Titans Rising (Dayhound Saga Book 3)
by Whatever I want to write about
Summary: Daniel Wilson, the Dayhound, copes with the death of his brother, his girlfriend dumping him, and his new team, The Teen Titans, all while trying to stay sane and fight crime. This is book 3. Go back and read the others if you haven't. This story is finished.
1. Chapter 1

"Cyborg, heads up!" Garfield Logan, aka, Beast Boy yelled at Victor Stone. The Cyborg spun around, narrowly catching a piece of flying debris that was about to hit him. He set it down to the side and then gave his green friend a thumbs up.

I sat on the rooftop, overlooking the fight. The enemy was an small army of 10 foot tall Crimson robots. All of my teammates were down there. Cyborg, Beast Boy, Robin, Raven, Zatanna, Donna Troy and the Green Arrow's sidekick, Speedy. All of the Teen Titans except for me.

It's not that I didn't want to hit someone, because I loved hitting people, but I knew better. I knew that in order to kill the snake, you had to cut off the head. I took it upon myself to find whoever or whatever was controlling these robots. I grabbed my signal tracker from my utility belt and plugged in one of the robot's radio emitter cards that I had taken. It took a few seconds, but finally my signal tracked pinpointed the origin of the command signal. An old warehouse, about 10 blocks away.

"Why is it always warehouses?" I muttered to myself. I readied my grapple gun and gave my team one last look. They could handle things here. Especially with Dick's 'impeccable leadership.' That kid was full of such bullshit. I aimed at the next rooftop over, then fired my gun.

It took me a few minutes to reach the warehouse. It was one of those with the large glass windows at the top, so that's where I would make my entrance. I smashed through them, then crashed into a bay of servers below.

"Who the hell are you?" A scientist yelled as he realized what had happened.

"The man who is cutting off the head of the snake." I answered menacingly. He bolted for the exit, but I pounced on him.

"You can't do this! I have rights!" He screamed as we both tumbled to the ground.

"Let me show you your goddam rights, Anthony Ivo!" I growled as I bashed him in the face. I don't really know how it happened, but I just kept hitting him. Donna eventually tackled me off.

"Danny, stop it, you'll kill him!" She cried out. I looked over at his body. He looked lifeless, but I could see he was still breathing. His blood was everywhere, his nose was busted in multiple places, and his teeth were scattered all over the ground where he was laying.

"What is wrong with you, Daniel Wilson? This is the second time you've hurt someone this bad." Donna said, clearly shocked at the violence I had committed.

"Have you ever known the Dayhound to be soft? Do you think I should tickle our enemies into giving up?" I yelled at her.

"Gods, you are impossible. We are supposed to be heroes, Wilson! Look at Ivo! Is that something a hero would do?" She argued, pointing at Ivo. I mumbled something about how it wasn't and that was it. We decided to head back to the Tower.

Titan Tower, aka, the Tower was a 15 story T-shaped building on an island off the coast of San Fransisco, where the Teen Titans were operating out of. The Top floor, the very top of the T, which was 13 rooms wide, consisted of 10 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1 common area. The common area had things like a large tv, a kitchen area, and dining area. The 14th floor was a computer bay with a couple of large super computers, and the 13th was a generator room. Floors 12-2 were specialized gyms for training, and the first floor was a fully stocked state of the art garage. All of our land vehicles were there. My car, Robin's bike, and a few others. Victor even had a car down there he was building. It didn't work yet, but Vic said it would eventually.

"Danny, can we talk about what happened out there? You nearly killed Ivo!" Donna said as we walked off the elevator into the common room.

"No." I grumbled as I started walking toward the north side of the T, where my room was. Dick cut me off and blocked the door to the north wing.

"What is this about you almost killing Ivo?" He said angrily.

"Nothing Dick. Outta my way!" I yelled louder than I should've. This got the attention of everyone else in the room: Victor, Garfield, and Roy. They stood up and started to walk towards me. I rolled my eyes, then quickly yanked Dick into my knee.

He grunted, then wrapped his arms around me. He picked me up, charged over to the dining table, then slammed me down on it. I kept my legs guarding him from escaping, but he started punching me. I pulled his head into a guillotine hold. I squeezed his neck until Beast Boy came over in gorilla form and separated us.

"You two need to calm the hell down!" Vic yelled at us as Beast Boy held us each by the back of our necks, "Look, Dan, did you kill Ivo?"

"No." I growled calmly.

"So I don't see what the trouble is. We got the bad guy, that's all that matters."

"Hey Vic, you might want to see this before you say everything's good." Roy Harper said, turning up the tv. They showed a picture of Ivo, his setup, and what was left of him. Victor's eyes widened and he looked at me in shock.

"You did that?" He asked in surprise, I nodded. "Danny, bro, we can't to that! We are supposed to be the good guys!"

"I am the good guy! I'm a damn good guy and it's gotten me no where!" I yelled, "Put me down, Gar, or I will mess you up!"

The green gorilla shrugged, then put Dick and me down. Dick shoved me, then went and sat on the couch.

Donna tried to tell me that she was sorry, but I ignored her. I walked broodingly to my room, and removed my costume.


	2. Chapter 2

Once I was showered and changed into sweatpants, I opened my laptop. I googled the words "Dayhound Teen Titans Ivo" then pressed enter. I clicked the first link.

The headline of the page said "Dayhound: hero or not?" The subtitle said something like "Super 'hero' Dayhound brutally beats scientist turned villain Anthony Ivo.'

I skimmed through the article, but it was pretty much a speculation of events that happened. Most of it they got right. The Titans fighting Ivo's bots while I went and took down Ivo. Pretty much the only part they got wrong was the beat down of Ivo. They said that I used my bat, but I really just used my hands. They made Ivo out to be a victim of 'Superhero Brutality.' Bullshit.

I read several more articles about the subject, but they were pretty much all the same. I rubbed my eyes. I was tired of the same shit. I went on Facebook, hoping to find a change of pace.

First of all, I don't want you to think I'm a weirdo stalker. Yes, I was Facebook stalking Helena, my ex-girlfriend, and yes, I do that quite often. I prefer to call it keeping tabs on her. She's a mob boss' daughter, so she's almost always in danger.

She and I broke up the first time technically, because of my brother, Kameron. He disguised himself as me and dumped her to try and hurt me. She and I got it cleared up after he shot himself, but she realized afterwards that my life, or her life, or something was just too complicated for us.

We broke up about a year ago. A lot has happened to her since then. She had a new boyfriend, Michael Mariani. She became more cynical about her father's work, maybe even supportive of it. She also became more of a party girl, going to parties, hosting parties, talking about parties. She definitely wasn't the same person I knew and loved.

I rubbed my eyes again, but jumped when someone knocked on my door. I shut my laptop and slid the door open a little. It was Raven. I slid it all the way open.

"Hey," she said in her ever-melancholy tone, "I was just here to um... Make sure you're ok."

"Did Dick send you here? Or any of those other people?" I asked suspiciously.

"No... I just heard the commotion and my room is right next door, so I heard you slam your door and... Yeah."

"Oh, sorry, I just... I'm having an off day."

"You're not right, like, up here, right?" She asked, putting two fingers up to her temple. "Sorry, that came out wrong."

She almost never changed tone. She sounded melancholy and nearly monotone. It was hard to tell if she actually felt bad about things or not. Raven was actually quite pretty, in a strange way. I feel bad saying that about her, but she wasn't conventionally beautiful. Her skin was pale, almost white, her hair was black and dyed with blue streaks in some places. She wasn't exceptionally buxom and didn't have the nice full figure that super hot girls have. She was actually very thin. But there was something very alluring about her. Like, the girl-your-mother-told-you-not-to-date kind of alluring. It was kind of the same thing I saw in Helena originally.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, it's fine. No, I guess you could say I am not 'right up here'" I sighed as I copied her gesture, "I have depression, but I guess I just have a lot of damn issues."

"I guess I do too. I mean my dad tried to enter this realm using my body, so that's something. I also am the 'embodiment of pride,' or some shit like that."

"I guess you and I make quite the pair." I said, laughing. She blushed, then I realized how flirty that seemed and blushed too."

After a moment of awkward silence, Raven eventually spoke up.

"So... Yeah. If you ever want to, like, um... Talk about your problems or shit like that, I'm right next door. Or even if you want to talk shit about these other people, I'm always down."

"Thanks Raven. You're great." I stammered out. We sat there awkwardly for a moment.

"See ya..." She said quietly, then walked back to her room.

I slid my door shut, then checked my phone. I had a text from Megan Morse, my former neighbor and good friend. She was also Martian Manhunter's niece.

"Hey Danny" Her text read.

"Hey Megan, what's up?" I typed back. "How's Phys. Therapy going?"

Megan had been set on fire by Kam last year. Fire is a Martian's weakness. She had been in a coma until about a month ago, and had undergone physical therapy at the Watchtower.

"It's going GREAT! I am actually just about done. Uncle Jo'nn says I can join you guys in a few days."

My mind started racing. The last time I saw Meg while she was conscious was right before I saved Helena from Carmine Falcone. Meg had told me that she loved me and I kissed her. I wasn't sure how I felt about Megan coming here though. I didn't know if I was still into her, if she was still into me, or if I was emotionally ready for another relationship. I mean, clearly I wasn't over Helena.

"That's AWESOME :P" I texted back. I felt like an idiot texting that, but I panicked. I breathed out a loud sigh. I still wasn't sure if I wanted Megan to come, but I certainly felt like I didn't want someone to be able to read my mind the whole time.

I got off of my bed, threw on an old t-shirt, then went to the kitchen for a late night snack.

I opened the fridge, but it shut by itself as soon as I got it all the way opened. "Damned high tech fridges." I opened it again, yielding the same result. Frustrated, I tried it a third time. It shut again, this time much faster. I kicked with a hard front kick, putting a dent in the door. Then, I heard giggling.

"You don't have to be so mad, I'm sure someone could help you out." Zatanna said, stepping out from behind the couch. She had been messing with me.

"What the hell, Zee?" I said, quite angrily.

"Relax, I was just messing with you. No need to get your shorts in a twist. I just needed a good laugh. Everyone around here is so damn serious." Zatanna said, jumping into a sitting position on the counter. She was wearing a tank top and sweats. Not exactly what I'd call sexy, but she pulled it off. "I mean, we are a house full of teenagers, for goodness sake! Do you realize that no one in this house has pulled a prank on each other, and none of us have made out or anything. Everyone in this house is so lame."

I laughed at her. "You think that's what normal teenagers are like?"

"I KNOW that's what teenagers are like. Watch." She said, kneeling on the table. She pulled the straps of her top down over her shoulders so it hung loosely on her chest. It began to get VERY hot in there.

"Whoo, um... Is it hot in here? I uh... Think I'm gonna go to to bed." I stammered as I tried to escape the room. Zatanna giggled and pulled her straps back up.

"See. You're so fricking hormonal, if I wanted to make out on this table right now, you wouldn't say no."

"Sheesh, give me more credit than that." I laughed with her, "I don't like you that much."

"Right, I forgot that you and I hate each other." She joked, "Maybe if it were Dick or Gar, then he wouldn't say no."

"I don't know, Dick is missing Babs quite a bit. He was really hoping she'd come out here with us." I said as I sat next to Zatanna on the counter.

"That's why he'd just pretend I was her. It's really easy. If I made out with you, I would definitely pretend you were someone else. Someone actually attractive." She teased me. I pushed her in the shoulder and laughed. "Don't tell me you wouldn't pretend I was that Bertinelli slut. I saw the way you looked at her."

"Yeah... Helena." I muttered, killing the joke.

"Hey, are you ok? You didn't even care that I called her a slut."

"No, I really am not." I said nonchalantly. She pulled my head down onto her shoulder softly. She ran her hand through my hair. "I really loved her, Zee, I really did."

"I know you did, Danny. What was it you loved about her? Maybe talking about it will help."

"Where do I begin?" I said with tears streaming down my face, "God, I'm such a damn baby."


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't know. I loved Helena. I guess I loved her eyes. That's actually why I noticed her in the first place. Dick told me she was bad news, but the way she looked at me with those beautiful eyes, I just couldn't resist." I explained to Zatana.

"I understand. Eyes can be very powerful. Especially to boys." She giggled. I looked up at her and smiled. Then something happened. Something odd. We don't know to this day who instigated it, but it happened.

Before I knew it, I was locking lips with Zatanna Zatara. I put my hands on her hips and pushed her down onto the counter she ran her fingers wildly through my hair and down my back. She wrapped her legs around my waist as I pulled at her shirt.

We both stopped very suddenly. As though we were one mind, the looks we gave each other were the same. Absolute shock.

"That was weird, right?" She finally said after a moment of staring.

"Pfft, totally. I don't even know why that happened. Did that even happen?"

"Well, considering you're still on top of me..."

"Oh shoot, sorry." I said, as I got off of her.

"Um... That was nice, right? Like, it was weird, but it was good, at least for me. How about for you?"

"No, yeah, that was really good. But totally weird. But nice." I stammered out.

"Well... Now what?" She asked awkwardly.

"Um... We should go to bed."

"Good idea."

We both went to the doors to the separate wings. I hoped and prayed that no one would hear me.

I woke up, and a few things rushed through my mind. Megan, Helena, and Zatanna. Last night felt like a dream. A crazy, impossible dream, but it wasn't a dream. That had actually happened. After laying in bed for a few more minutes, I went out into the common area.

Cyborg was there, making breakfast. Say what you want about Victor Stone, he could make a mean breakfast. There were only three people down her right now: me, Vic, and of course, Zatanna. She and I made eye contact, then looked down at our plates.

"Mm-mmm! I am so ready for these waffles. It is a great day, don't you guys think? I think I'm gonna work on the T-Car." Vic said to us, making a lot of small talk. This was the most awkward thing that had ever happened to me.

"Man, you two are awfully quiet. Y'all ok?" He asked us as he served us each a waffle.

"Yeah," I muttered, "Just didn't sleep well."

"Same." Zatanna said, no louder than I did. We both looked at each other and said nothing.

"Well ok, you strange kids..." He said, giving us both a very confused look. "So what are you planning today, Danny?"

"I think I'm gonna get some combat training in." I replied quietly.

"And what about you, Zatanna? Anything exciting? Any hot dates coming up?"

"Um... No. I think I'm just gonna work out today..." She added almost silently.

"What is up with you guys?" He said, looking from side to side at us. Then he got a shocked look on his face. "Oh no! You guys did something, didn't you?"

I felt my face grow hot, and she and I both tried to deny that we had done anything. That we hadn't made out on the counter yesterday. We were both saying no, but Vic had already figured it out.

"Details guys, I need details!" He yelled, much louder than we wanted. At the same time, we both dishes him loudly. That's when Beast Boy came in.

"Details about what? Let me know what it is too!" He yelled as he ran in, waving his arms about his head. Zee and I looked at each other, then at Vic.

"Well, uh... Danny and Zatanna were just telling me about this... Workout method that Danny found."

"Aww... That's lame. I thought there was actual drama in this building. You know, there was drama, where I came from."

"Ok, sure thing buddy..." Cyborg said. He mouthed the words, "give me the details downstairs" to us and then scarfed down his waffle.

"Oh man, you made these with eggs and milk? How am I supposed to eat it now?"

"Like a normal human! Stop being a damned vegan!"

"You know why I'm a vegan, just accommodate me please!"

"No, I love eggs and milk and bacon way too much!" Vic yelled as he stood up. "You two, my jack broke, so I need you guys to come levitate the car."

We finished our waffles and followed Vic down the elevator.

"So we all know why I really brought you here." Victor said as he pressed the elevator stop button. We groaned.

"You guys made out, right? Or... Nah, it was awkward but not like you had gotten freaky awkward. Give me the details, fam!"

"Ok, fine Vic!" I yelled. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"I promise."

"I mean it. If you tell anyone, I will dismantle you." I threatened in my gravelly Dayhound voice. He gulped, and the nodded.

"Ok, so here's how it went down." I said, as matter of factly as I could, "I came out to get a snack, she was messing with me, we were talking, then we made out, then we went to sleep."

"That's exactly how it happened." Zatanna said, "Can we go now?"

"Wait, you guys, I need details! Like, how long? How much tongue? Those kind of details!"

"I don't think either of us were keeping track of those." Zatanna said quietly.

"At least tell me if you enjoyed it!"

We both looked at each other, smiled a little, then looked at the ground.

"It was weird. Like, so sudden." I said. Then I started the elevator again and got off at the next floor.

The next few days were a blur. Eventually, Zatanna and I got back to normal. Insulting each other, acting like we hate each other. Cyborg still teased me when I was alone with him, but I knew that if i ignored him, he'd stop.

"All Titans report to the hub! This is not a drill! All titans report to the hub!" Robin's voice said over the intercom a few days after 'The Incident'.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Dick," I said on my communicator, "Where the hell is the hub?"

I heard a loud groan. "Top floor, in between the north and south wings. You know, the place where we all hang out?"

"Oh, you mean the common area?"

"Just get up here!"

Once all the Titans were gathered, Dick pushed a button on the Tv remote. Martian Manhunter's face popped up in screen and Dick told him to brief us.

"First off," Martian Manhunter said, "I would like to congratulate you all on arresting Professor Ivo. That was no easy feat, but you all managed it and caused minimal damage to the city. You all have improved much after the past six months. Your mission is much simpler than that though. There is a meteor of significant size crashing just outside of the San Fransisco. It shouldn't cause any damage, but you all need to go make sure the area is secure, then secure the package. It's very simple and very easy work."

Roy groaned at this last sentence. That guy was competitive, and if there was a simple and easy mission, he did not have a good time because he could not compete.

"I will hear no complaints, Roy," Martain Manhunter said, "You need to learn that being a hero isn't just stopping crime, it's also making sure people are safe."

"I know..." Roy grumbled.

"I have one final order of business. A few of you know my niece, M'gann M'orzz. She has just finished physical therapy, and will be coming to San Fransisco tomorrow to join the Titans. So, I would do whatever you need to prepare for her arrival."

"Like what?" Donna asked.

"Clean up, prepare a room for her, that sort of stuff."

Everyone groaned at that. We hadn't cleaned much since Green Arrow came to check up on us 3 months ago. The common area was cluttered with various things. Clothing, trash, cd's, dvd's, and other personal items.

"Alright, the meteor's estimated time till touch down is 5 hours. I will send Cyborg the crash zone. Watchtower, out."

"Ok Titans, gear up and move out!" Robin commanded.

"Dude, you gotta come up with a better catchphrase than that." Beast Boy insulted.

I was driving my car swiftly down the path of the Muir Forest, fully costumed. Robin was sitting next to me in the passenger seat. We were supposed to be watching for hikers and campers to tell them to evacuate the area. I was the only one watching. Robin was watching his phone.

"Dude, you gotta focus." I scolded him. He scoffed.

"I'm texting Babs. I really miss her." He said as though it were ok that he wasn't watching.

"Isn't she with Batman? It's like, 1 o'clock there."

"It's a slow night for them. It's been really slow since the whole Nightwolf Man hunt thing."

My brother, Kameron killed Mob boss Carmine Falcone's son. There was a city-wide man hunt for him, that some people to this day call an all out war.

"We still gotta focus on the task at hand." I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Dude, it is only a ten mile radius. If there was anyone here, we would've- shit!"

A large object crashed right in front of us. The meteor. The car hit it and flipped through the air. I hit my head against a rock and blacked out.

I woke up very hot. There was a fire right next to me. My car was on fire! I struggled, but I couldn't move. Had I broken my neck? My door opened, and Robin yanked me out and away from the car.

"Holy shit, is that the meteor?" Dick said, sitting on a log that he had leaned me up against.

I used my bat to help me stand up and I walked closer to the meteor. "Dick... Does it look shiny to you? Like... Almost like some sort of crystal."

Dick came over and stood by me.

"Yeah... It does. What the hell?"

Suddenly, the Meteor exploded, sending flames and large shards of crystal. It knocked both Dick and me off our feet. I flew back and slammed into a tree.

I stood up again, groaning. There was a figure standing in the flames. It was a little taller than I was and thin. It was human shaped, completely engulfed by flames.

"Hey!" I yelled to the figure. "Are you ok?"

I saw a green glow from the flame on the figure's head. The flames around the figure turned green. It moved fast, flew at me, and grabbed me by my coat. We flew into the air, high above the trees. We flew until the flames around the figure went out. Then we stopped higher in the air than I'd ever been before.

It was a woman, a girl. She had tan skin and fiery hair. Her eyes were green like I had never seen before. They were the color of emeralds. She was wearing some kind of purple outfit, if I could even call it that. It didn't cover much of her body, which was full and nice.

We sat there for a second. I didn't know how high we were exactly, but I felt like I couldn't breathe. She stared at me, he face full of rage. Then, she just dropped me. I fell for a couple of seconds, then gasped for air.

"Oh shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" I screamed as I fell. The pines of the Muir neared, and I closed my eyes, preparing for my death. I thought I was dead, but two large talons grabbed me. Beast Boy, in the shape of a pterodactyl, had saved me.

"Oh thank god!" I screeched as he put me down on one of the trees. "Thank you so damn much, Gar!"

He squawked, landed in another tree, then turned into his normal form. "What the hell happened?"

"It's some chick. Alien. She was in the meteor. It might be the start to some kind of invasion." I answered, speculating to what she was.

"Oh jeez... What do we do? What's the plan?" He asked, panicked. I sometimes forgot that he was the youngest in the group. He was only 15, but he had been forced to mature early.

His parents had died of a rare disease when he was a baby. He would've died of the same disease, but his parents relentlessly worked on a cure by using DNA from a rare green monkey. That's what gave him his powers, but it also turned his skin and hair green. It was not easy growing up as a green kid who could shape shift into animals. He joined up with a team called the Doom Patrol, and, from what I understood, they weren't easy to be with either. They had expected a lot, and that really forced Garfield Logan to grow up fast.

"I have no idea. If we lured her to the city, we could set up a trap." I said, thinking aloud. I pulled out my communicator. "Dayhound to Titans. We need a plan."

The girl zoomed down over the forest and threw a few light discs down at the forest floor, each one exploding as it hit.

"Really? I figured we could just wing it!" Roy said sarcastically.

"Hey, Roy, you see me?"

"Yeah."

I saw him waving from a distance. I flipped him off.

"Uncool dude." He said over the communicator

"Go f—k yourself."

"Boys, calm the hell down." Zatanna interrupted over the com-link. "Robin, plan please?"

"Ok... Does anyone still have a vehicle? Dayhound hit the meteor with his." Robin said, insulting me.

"Hey, it crashed right in front of me."

"Is this really the time to be defending yourself?" Raven chimed in, sounding as sad as ever.

"I can have the T-Car here in 30 seconds." Cyborg said over coms.

The alien was fighting us. More like strafe bombing us, actually, and we couldn't really counter. She was moving too fast for Roy to hit with an arrow, too far away for Zee or Raven to use magic, and too agile for Cyborg to shoot with his sonic emitters.

"Ok, Cyborg, when the T-Car gets here, you're going to draw her attention. Beast Boy, you distract her right now, and Dayhound, Zatanna, Raven, Roy, and I will sneak over to the city and set up a trap."

"Understood." We all said in unison. I gave Beast Boy a nod, then grappled down to the forest floor.


	5. Chapter 5

It didn't take me long to reach the edge of the city. Everyone else was already there.

"Ok, what's the plan Robin?" I asked as I got on the rooftop they were on.

"You, Zatanna, and Raven will use magic to create an invisible net type thing. Then, Roy will hit her with a smoke arrow, and I'll grapple her to the ground." He explained to me. I nodded, then we all got into position.

"Hey, Zee, can I ask you something?" I said. She was nearby me, while Raven was on the opposite rooftop.

"Sure..." She confirmed suspiciously.

"I have no idea how to make a net. I mean, net backwards is just 'ten' and I don't think I can say that as a spell." I said. I was actually very worried about this. She giggled. "Hey, it's not funny!"

"No, I just thought it was something serious. Danny, look, Raven and I are pretty powerful magicians. I think we will manage without you."

"Ok, fine... I'll just watch." I grumbled as I sat on the ledge of the building. I hated feeling so useless. I couldn't fly or cast good spells or anything like that. I had fit in with Batman in Gotham, but here, I felt out of my league. I wondered if this is what Batman felt like among the Justice League.

"Guys," Cyborg's voice said over the com-link, "I'm coming in. I got one alien hot on my tail."

"Hey Cyborg," Beast Boy said, "I think you should have a catchphrase."

"What? Is now really the time?"

"I think we all should have our own catchphrases actually, but you especially. You have a really nice voice. Like, you could be on the radio."

"Um... I hate to stop this awkward friendship moment," Speedy interrupted, "but I really think we should focus on the task at hand."

Beast Boy grumbled some unintelligible stuff over coms, but he didn't say anything else. A few seconds later, the T-Car came into view. It was followed shortly by the fire bolt that was the alien girl. Zatanna and Raven cast the spell, sending a large shimmer over the street between the rooftops they were on. We got ready.

She hit the net, but it only seemed to slow her down a little. Finally, the spell burst, sending both of the girls flying back.

"Oh crap." I said as I pulled out my grapple gun. I had to act fast. "Why am I always the one who has to do this?"

I fired it at her. The claw grabbed onto the back of her top and whooshed me through the air. I cursed as I avoided buildings and streetlights. This felt very familiar.

I pushed the reel in button and began to zoom towards her slowly. She was moving too fast for me to reel-kick her. Finally, I had reeled enough for me to grab her.

I grabbed her shoulders and wrapped my legs around her waist. She tried to pull me off, but, thanks to the adrenaline coursing through my veins, she was unsuccessful. I let go with one hand, then nailed her with a hard elbow in the back of the head.

This may not have been the best of plans, since we both started coming down. I cursed more as I fumbled for my grapple gun. At the last moment, I fired and hit a lamp post. I felt my arm dislocate as I swung off of her. I wasn't able to hold onto the gun for long, but it was enough to slow me down. Speedy was the first person to roll up.

"Dude, are you alright?" He exclaimed as he neared.

"I dislocated my shoulder." I said calmly as I rubbed my hurt arm.

"Here. You're lucky Green Arrow does this shit all the time." He said as he grabbed it and popped it back into place. I wondered why I didn't have a better relationship with Roy. I mean, we were pretty much the same. We didn't have powers and our mentors didn't have powers. The only difference was that Star City was on the other side of the country, in Washington state.

"Thanks." I said, swinging my arm a little. I pulled my bat off my back and walked to the crater where the alien girl was. Soon, all the Titans were around it too.

"Alright," Cyborg said, "So we won?"

Then, she erupted in flames again as she leapt to her feet. She was pissed.

"Titans, Go!" Robin yelled as he jumped at her. He nailed her with his staff then dodged one of her punches. I jumped in and smacked her back with my bat. Donna also started hitting her. Zatanna, Speedy, and Raven shot various projectiles at her. Beast boy turned into a triceratops and bashed her into the air.

"Hey BB," Cyborg said as he drove the T-Car down the street, "How's this for a catchphrase?"

He ejected into to air and punched her as he shot her with a sonic emitter. He landed and rolled into a kneeling position. "Booyah."

"Dude that was S-I-C-K, sick!"

"Thanks."

"So... We won now, right?" Speedy said as he walked over to the alien girl. She was very unconscious.

—

"Then you were like, whoosh!" Beast boy said to me as he recapped the whole battle to us as though we hadn't been there. "Then Robin was like, 'Titans, Go!' Which, by the way, is a very good catchphrase for you. Then we all were 'watcha! Karate chop! Shhhhhhh... Pow!' And then I rolled in and-"

"BB," Vic said, finally deciding that he had heard enough, "We were all there. We got it."

"Sorry man, but it was just so damn epic! Like, we did it. I felt like the Justice League. I think I actually saw Mister Rainy Day-Hound over here smile." He said, signaling to me. I flipped him off nonchalantly and he acted offended, but then kept talking.

I went over to the medicine cabinet, grabbed a bottle of painkillers, then swallowed a small handful.

"Whoa dude," Donna said as she saw me do this, "do you need that many?"

"Need? Nah. Want? Oh yes." I answered, shrugging. Everyone looked at each other awkwardly. The room went quiet. I had had enough, so I started heading back to my room.

That night, I had a dream. I was at some kind of party, In the gym at my old high school, Gotham High. This was prom? Prom was in two weeks though, I thought. There was a sign up there that said 'Junior Prom' on it, so I figured it had to be. The gym was full of people, but they were all standing still. They were frozen. It was as though time had stopped. I was in my costume.

I walked around for a little while. I walked through the crowd until I saw Barbara. I waved my hand in front of her face.

"Babs? Babs, what's going on?" I said to her. Her eyes moved to me, but otherwise she didn't move at all. I stepped onto a platform that they had set up at the back of the gym. There was a teacher there. What was her name again? Ms. Di'Ve, I think it was. She was announcing something on a microphone, but obviously, I couldn't hear it. She was frozen too. She was holding some sort of tiara. I guess she was announcing prom queen.

There were three girls up there too. Helena was one of them. They were the 3 choices for prom queen. On the other side of the platform, there were three guys. Prom king choices. I guessed since Michael, Helena's boyfriend, was wearing the crown, he was the king.

I wondered something. I faced Michael, raised my fists, and gave him a hard right hook in his chin. He didn't move, except for his head. It turned with my fist, but did not move farther than I moved it. This was a strange dream.


	6. Chapter 6

After punching Michael, I hopped off the stage. I walked to one of the exits of the gym and tried to push the door open. It didn't budge. I kicked it twice, trying to force it open, but it didn't move at all.

It started to get really hot in there. I was sweating. I pulled my hood and scarf down, hopefully to cool off. Nothing I did worked. It felt like it was 110 degrees in there. It smelled like sulfur. The air glowed red. I saw an orange spark beneath the stage. In slow motion, a bomb went off beneath the stage. I tried to run to save Helena, but I couldn't. I was running too slow. I was going in slow motion. I saw her fly off the stage, slowly. A few pieces of shrapnel cut her skin in slow motion. She flew towards me. I tried to run to where she would land, tried to catch her, but I couldn't move at all now. She hit the ground with a loud crack. Her lifeless body, although cut up and bruised, looked very peaceful.

I woke up silently. I was cold. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. What time was it? I looked over at the alarm clock next to my bed. The time was 2:06 am.

I tried to sleep again, but I couldn't. I needed to get out. I suited up, snuck out of my room, then down to the garage. My car was still totaled down in the Muir forest, so I had to take Robin's motorcycle.

Once I was in the city. I pulled over behind some bushes. I turned on the police scanner and listened for a few minutes. There was a robbery in progress 12 blocks away. They had hostages. Sounded exactly like the start to a good night.

I rode the bike down the street until I was about 2 blocks down. I parked it, then grappled to the roof. I travelled on the rooftops until I saw the bank. I took a deep breath, then looked for my way in.

There was an A/C unit on the roof of the small bank. The only problem with that was the size of the bank. These small banks usually have small vent shafts. It seemed like that was my only option though. I jumped over to the roof of the bank. I lifted the unit out of the concrete and slid down the main shaft.

There was a large vent cover at the bottom of the shaft. Looking through it, I could see the vault. There was a masked man drilling through the vault door. I could also see a man holding a pistol near him. They were talking.

"So what happens when we get in here?" The one with the pistol said. "Cops are surrounding the whole damn building. We take one step out of here, cops'll blow our damn heads off."

"That's why we take hostages with us. Thank god for these 24 hour banks, right?"

"Yeah man. Hey Carmelo, how's the hostages doing?" The guy with the pistol yelled into another room. There must be three guys here. Carmelo... That was an Italian name. Italians in San Fransisco? I hoped it was just the one, and this heist wasn't planned by any of the Dons.

I needed to take out Carmelo first. If I made a move on any of the other guys, he could kill the hostages.

"They're doing fine, all tied up still." Carmelo said from an unseen place.

I made my way back up the main shaft until I could find a side shaft that led in the direction of his voice that I could squeeze into. It was cramped, but I had no trouble with tight spaces.

Carmelo and the hostages were holed up in the security room. Made sense. It had only one door, and Carmelo had a view of all the rooms with the security cameras. Luckily, he didn't have view of the vents. Now I just had to find a way through the vent in front of me, and take out Carmelo as quietly as I could. I put my hands up against the grates of the vent. I could get my fingertips through.

I waited until Carmelo was looking at the security cameras. That way his attention was focused on the screens. I pressed the grate until the screws came loose. I silently hoped that they wouldn't fall and make noise. I got the grate off, then used my free hand to scoot forward so my head and shoulders were out of the vents.

I shoved off the wall, and crashed into the thug. We sprawled on the ground, but I ended up on top. I shoved my forearm down firmly on his neck until he was knocked out. That seemed quiet enough, since the room was carpeted. I turned to the hostages.

"Is everyone ok?" I whispered to them. They were all very scared, but nodded to confirm they were all unharmed.

I snuck over to the door and opened it a crack. The central vent was on the other side of the room that the security room opened to. That meant that the guards were just around the corner.

I pulled out my bat, and threw it at a lamp on the other side of the room. It smashed and made a very loud noise.

"What the hell was that?" One of the robbers said.

"I don't know." The other one said, "Go check it out. Just stay away from these windows. The police might have snipers outside."

The one with the pistol came around the corner and started to go over to the desk. I silently bolted out of the room, grabbed the guy, then quickly dragged him back into the shadows, where I choked him out. Unfortunately, the third guy was looking and saw me snatch his friend.

"Oh jeez, the boss isn't gonna like this..." He said. He dropped the drill and ran to the back door. I had to apprehend him before the police did so I could find out who his boss was.

I bolted around the corner just in time to see him going out the back door. I sprinted towards him, and tackled him when I got close. I gripped his jacket and used my grapple gun to shoot us up to a nearby rooftop. I tossed him against a roof access door.

"Who are you working for?" I growled loudly.

"What are you?" He cried out, covering his face. I grabbed his shirt and lifted him up against the door. I bashed him against it and asked the question again.

"You think I'll tell you? He'll kill me!"

"I'll do much worse to you than that." I yelled at him. I threw him against the door, then pulled out my knife. I stabbed the door right next to his head. "I'll ask one more time before I start hurting you. Who are you working for?"

"Oh, you're real edgy." He said. Then he started mocking my voice. "'I'll ask you one more time before I start hurting you'. Pft! Give me a break man! Batman never taught you anything except for how to break bones. I was a boxer. You think I haven't had bones broken?"

I yanked him to his feet by the back of his neck and pulled the knife out of the door. I shoved him to his knees next to an a/c unit and put his arm on the unit. I raised the knife above my head. Would I really do it? Would I really go that far? I remembered Ivo, and how I beat him up badly. But I didn't maim him, like I was about to do to this guy. I pushed Ivo out of my head and thought of Michael and Helena, I thought of Kam and how I had him under control until the police made him shoot himself, and I thought of the Joker laughing as he killed my poor mom, even though she hadn't done anything to deserve it. I was filled with rage. I brought the razor sharp blade down on the thugs fingers, chopping two of them off and cutting a third to the bone.

"Ah! Shit!" He cried out as he fell backwards, clutching his severed fingers.

"Who are you working for?" I yelled again, grabbing his other hand and shoving it down onto the a/c unit.

"Wait, please don't! I'll tell you! Oh god, I'll tell you! Just don't cut off any more fingers!" He cried out. He was sobbing and covered in blood from his hand. I probably had some of his blood on me as well. I released his wrist, kicked him to his back, and ordered him to tell me. "Franco Bertinelli, out in Gotham. He wants to expand outside of Gotham so he sent some of us here, some to Chicago, some to New York, and some to Orlando. I don't know why he wants to expand and I don't know who else he has out here! Please don't hurt me anymore!"

I kicked him in the chin, knocking him out. I cauterized his fingers with a pipe and a lighter, then I grappled away before the police could investigate the sound of my interrogation.

Once I was away, I sat down to breathe. I pulled down my scarf and hood. I had never gone that far before. I had killed before, but that was because I was mad and I actually felt bad about my one murder I had committed. But this... Torture, I didn't feel bad about. He had what was coming, i thought.

"Whew, that was some scene." I heard a woman's voice say from behind me, "I almost didn't think you had it in you."

I spun around, pulling my disguise back up as I did. It was Duela, the Joker's 'daughter.'

"Duela?" I asked in my gravelly Dayhound voice.

"Aw, you remember my name. Touching." She said as she walked towards me. I raised my fists, prepared for a fight.

"What are you doing here? I left you in Gotham." I growled out.

"Eh... I got bored. You weren't there. Batman doesn't give me the right amount of attention."

I swung at her wildly. I was not in the mood for this. She ducked it.

"Mm... I am loving this. You wanna choke me next?" Duela said coyly. "By the way, the blood on your outfit: Very sexy."

I kicked her, this time it hit it's mark. She gasped for air, then tackled me. I threw her off of me and then dove on top of her. I hit her in the face twice, then tried to stand, but I couldn't. She had me in a really good full guard.

"You're not the only one who's been training, D." She said. Then, she rolled us over so she was on top of me. She punched me in the face a few times, but I blocked the rest of them. I grabbed the back of her neck and then returned her punches. Now that she was disoriented, I was able to throw her off of me. I kicked myself back to my feet, but was surprised to see that she was on hers as well.

"Mm... Stop pulling your punches," Duela said, wiping the blood from her lips, "This is really turning me on."

I leapt through the air and nailed her in the jaw with a switch kick. Then, I grabbed her and put her in a full-Nelson.

"What's your angle, bitch?" I growled at her.

"What do you mean? And by the way, the b-word is still not sexy."

"Why are you here? What are you planning?"

"Can't I just come here, to the beautiful city by the bay, to see you, my boyfriend?"

I grabbed her shoulders, shoved her forward, then pulled her into my knee hard.

"Ouch!" She cried out, "You know that I'm getting off on this, right?"

I growled, then slammed her head into an air vent that was on the roof.

"For a second there, I thought you were gonna bend me over that. Got a little excited."

I was tired of this, Damn Duela. I wrapped my arm around her neck and choked her tight. Probably tighter than I should've, but I was tired of her talking.


	7. Chapter 7

I got back to the tower at about 6. I had Duela with me, but she was unconscious. I was going to put her in one of the holding cells in the basement of the tower. I snuck in the lobby, then into the elevator. Raven was supposed to be in the holding area, watching the alien girl. I just hoped she was asleep.

So far, so good. I didn't see any sign of her. I sneaked in, carrying Duela over my shoulder. I had just locked her up in a different cell than the alien when I heard a voice behind me.

"Isn't the benefit of being no longer with Batman supposed to be better hours?"

I spun around and saw Martian Manhunter.

"John!" I yelled as I gave him half a hug.

"It is good to see you, Daniel. What were you doing out this early?"

"Oh I couldn't sleep. You know me. When I can't sleep, I go out and kick some ass."

He just nodded. "You and I need to speak. But later. I am sure M'Gann will be pleased to see you."

"Yeah. Where is she?"

"She is upstairs, in what you call the hub."

"I don't call it that actually. Just Dick does, actually."

He laughed, then we went into the elevator. The ride up was silent. I wondered if he was reading my mind, finding out what I did tonight. If he was, he gave no sign of this. I figured he wasn't, because he wasn't shocked or appalled. It took me a moment to actually realize what I had done. I cut off a man's fingers. That's the kind of stuff the bad guys do in movies, torture for information.

My train of thought stopped when I saw Megan. She was in her human form. The moment she saw me, her eyes lit up. She ran to me and leaped at me, hugging me as she made contact.

"Danny! I missed you!" She said quietly as I finally put her down.

"Hey Meg. I missed you too. How have you been?"

"I've been great! Even better now that I'm here!" She said, smiling. God, she was beautiful.

"I will take your bags to your room, M'Gann." Martian Manhunter said as he picked them up.

"Thanks uncle John." She said as he left the room. I collapsed on the couch, my head in my hands. Did I feel bad?

"What's wrong, Danny? Tired?"

"Meg, I've done a bad, bad thing." I told her in a sigh.

"What? What happened?" She asked as she sat next to me, placing a hand on my back.

I told her about the man whose fingers I removed. I went into detail about what I did.

"If he hadn't talked, Meg, I would've done more. I already knew what I was going to do to him if he didn't talk after I removed all of his fingers. Are the news people right about me? Am I too brutal to be a hero?"

"Danny... I don't know. I know you. I know that you aren't brutal, but what you've done... First Mumbo, then Ivo, and now this guy. I don't know what to tell you. Heroes don't beat people like this. You're going through a lot. Maybe you should take a little break."

About 3 months ago, I had broken both of a minor villain named Mumbo's arms in three places. That was kind of the start of me taking all of my problems out on villains. I was surprised she knew about that.

"Maybe you're right... Am I a monster Meg?"

"No... You're just... Lost. Normal people would just yell at someone or something, but you... You're a soldier. What do soldiers do when they are distressed? They fight harder."

I didn't say anything else to this, I just hugged her. "Thanks Meg. I gotta go take a shower. I still have blood on my face, I think."

"Ok, I'll see you."

"Hey Meg, one more thing, real quick?"

"What?"

"Why are you human? I mean, why aren't you green? Shoot, that came out wrong..."

"I know what you mean. I guess I was just worried what you and the others will think. I don't know."

"Well I think you look beautiful either way." I said, touching her chin. She blushed, then turned green. I stepped back. She was in her Martian form. I looked at her from head to toe, checking her out. She was a little taller. She's grown a little. She giggled when she saw me checking her out.

"Go get in the shower, crazy kid." She said, shoving me softly.

I went over to the north wing bathroom. I shut the door, then peeled my sweat and blood covered costume off. My shower was shorter than I expected. Blood, especially dried blood, is usually harder to remove. I was in and out of the shower in ten minutes. I wrapped a towel around my waist, grabbed my costume, then slid the door open.

I ran into Raven in the hall. I mean, literally ran into her. We both went tumbling. The towel, to my fortune, stayed in its place.

"Oh shit, sorry Raven, are you all right?" I said, helping her up. She was blushing, which made sense, since I was wearing a towel.

"Yeah... I'm fine... Sorry..." She said quietly.

"No, it's my bad. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"What are you doing up so early anyways?" She said, still not making eye contact. She wasn't even looking at me. She was looking at the ground.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went out on patrol." I said, shifting my balance.

"Very cool."

"I'm gonna go get dressed now. Sorry." I said awkwardly. She nodded, then went into the bathroom.

I walked two doors down to my room. I got dressed in a t shirt and jeans, grabbed my cell phone, then went back to the common area.

"Daniel." Martain Manhunter said, "would you like to come try and make contact with the woman you and the titans captured?"

I gave Meg a suspicious look. Had she told her uncle about what happened tonight?

"Sure John. I'm down for that." I said, unsure of what his angle was.

Once we got in the elevator, he started talking.

"She is probably very afraid and confused, which is likely why she attacked you, so I don't think we should take... Ahem... Batman's interrogation approach."

"I figured that, which is why you invited me, not someone stronger like Cyborg."

"Exactly. I am going to implant English into her brain by using my psychic abilities, then we are going to sit down and have a nice chat with her, answering all of her questions and asking some of our own."

The elevator door opened, and we went down the hall to holding cell A. Martian Manhunter unlocked the door and held it opened for me. I went through and he followed closely behind.


	8. Chapter 8

I leaned back against the wall and let John do his thing. There was nothing I could do right now, and I wasn't sure how long it would take him to implant his whole knowledge of the English language in her brain.

I was just thankful she was handcuffed with a pair of promethium alloy handcuffs, because there were a few times when I thought she was gonna break out and kill me.

After a few minutes, John opened his eyes.

"Do you understand me, miss?" He asked her. She looked very confused.

"How... Wait, what? I am speaking the same language as you? How?" She asked. She had no idea what was going on.

"I am from a separate planet than this one. On my planet, my people are telepathic. I simply implanted my whole knowledge of the English language into your brain." John explained slowly, "My name is J'onn J'onzz. This is Daniel Wilson. We are not here to hurt you, simply to answer any questions you may have and ask a few of our own."

"Ask." She said bluntly.

"What is your name? What do they call you on your planet?" He asked her.

"My name is Koriand'r. I am from the planet Tamaran."

"Do your people mean to invade this planet? Are you just a scout?"

"No. This planet is not worth invasion. I was not supposed to land in this rock."

"Where were you supposed to land?"

"I wasn't. I was exiled by my people."

I looked at John. He did not seem worried, but I was.

"John, if she's a criminal..." I whispered to him. She shot daggers with her eyes at me.

"Relax Daniel, why don't we just ask her. Why were you exiled, Koriand'r?" John said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I cannot lie to you, since you will just read my mind and know the truth." The alien, Koriand'r, said simply, "I am the rightful queen of Tamaran, but my sister, Komand'r, defeated me in a trial of fair combat and exiled me."

Upon hearing this, John stood up and took the handcuffs off of her. "My apologies, your highness. If I had known that you were royalty, I would not have had you put in such harsh conditions."

"Harsh conditions? She attacked us. As far as we knew, she was here to take over the world!"

"Daniel, control yourself! Can't you see-" Martian Manhunter started to say before Koriand'r interrupted.

"Silence." She said calmly, but with authority. I knew for sure she was royalty after that. She stood up and walked right in front of me. She was a couple of inches taller than me, but we were pretty much eye to eye. "As for the attack, which I'm assuming you were a part of, despite not being in your armor anymore, you attacked me first."

"What do you mean princess?" I said, spewing venom with my words, "You picked me up and dropped me from 100,000 feet."

"You hit my ship with some kind of projectile." She retaliated. What was she talking about? My car? Did she think that was a weapon?

"Your 'ship' crashed right in front of my vehicle. That was no projectile. That was a bitchin' car."

"You know, it is a sign of weakness to use vulgarities." She said, her voice filled with insult.

"Daniel..." I heard Martian Manhunter warn as I clenched my fists. I didn't listen to him. I hit her with a hard right. Without my gloves, it felt like I was hitting a wall, but it had hurt her. She staggered back, stunned. I didn't care if she was hot. I was gonna tell her off.

"I don't care if you're a queen. I don't care if you're the queen of the whole goddam universe. You aren't better than me. We are-" I started to say. She grabbed me by my shirt, and slammed me against the cell wall. She threw me to the other side of the room. I hit the wall and dented the steel.

I rolled to my knees, coughing hard. That had knocked the wind out of me. She went and grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back to my feet violently. She grabbed my neck and lifted me into the air, choking me.

"Your majesty, please spare him. I apologize for bringing him here. I thought he would be more level headed." John pleaded. I knew I was in for it now. I kind of hoped she would choose not to spare my life.

I could see was thinking about it. I felt like my head was going to explode. Finally, after what felt like forever, she dropped me.

"Because you have shown me much respect, J'onn J'onzz, I am sparing his life. But this will not happen again." She said as I was gasping for air.

"Thank you very much, your majesty. Now if you excuse us, I need to talk to him. I will be back shortly. Come Daniel."

Once we were out in the hall, I tried to walk quickly to the elevator. John caught up with me.

"What the hell were you thinking, Daniel?!" He yelled loudly. "You just hit a queen! She could've killed you! She could have an army come invade the earth!"

"She's NOT a goddam queen! She's a former queen. Her sister beat her in combat, remember?" I yelled back. "She disrespected me, so I disrespected her face."

"What would Batman be doing right now, hm? You're getting it easy because it's me." John said, still yelling.

"I know that! If Batman were here, he would've been the one strangling me in there, not her."

"Then why did you do it?!"

"I'm going through some shit, ok?"

"Like what?"

"None of your goddam business. And don't try to pry it out of my head, I will set you on fire."

John said something in a different language, which I assumed was Martian, then went back into the cell.

I went up the elevator. Everyone was upstairs, eating breakfast and talking to Meg.

"Hey Danny," She said, ushering me over, "Come eat with us."

"Not hungry." I replied coldly. I walked quickly to the north wing and into my room.

A few minutes later, I heard a knocking. I slid the door open a crack. It was Roy. I tried to slam it shut, but he put his foot in the crack before I could.

"What the hell was that, Danny?" He said, opening the door.

"Nothing." I replied, trying to sound emotionless.

"Yeah, sure, I believe that." He said sarcastically, "Megan said you were going down to talk to that alien. What happened with her?"

"She insulted me, so I hit her."

"And J'onn got all pissy, right?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's probably because she used to be the queen of a whole goddam planet."

"Damn. You hit a queen? Not gonna lie, and don't tell anyone I told you this, but that's badass."

"Thanks Roy." I said, high five-ing him. "I think I'm gonna head back to Gotham."

"Now?" Roy asked shocked. "Why?"

"No. Probably in a week. Maybe at the end of this week. I just... I just need a break."

"Wouldn't going back to Gotham not be a break? "

"No. I'm not gonna fight anyone. I'm just gonna see Alfred and Babs, maybe visit a couple of graves. Who knows? But I haven't ever really had a break from all this. My last break was before I even started. After my mom died, I kind of just did this. I threw myself into this stuff. Same when Kam died. Helena didn't want to get back together, so I didn't have a girlfriend anymore, so all my free time went to fighting crime."

"Dude seriously? You've been at this for what? A year and a half straight? Every day?"

"Pretty much. Whenever anything happened in my life, I would just devote more time to this. But it's starting to affect this."

"Like, how?" Roy asked suspiciously.

"Like, violently. I've become so violent. I told Meg what has happened. She acted normal, but I could tell it affected her."

"Dang dude, that bites."

"Why am I even telling you this? I mean, we aren't good friends. Just yesterday, we fought like we hated each other."

"But that's our friendship. Like, you and Zatanna. You two act like you can't stand each other, but I think you guys are like, best friends or something." Roy said. I blushed, thinking of my kiss with Zatanna. I turned and sat on my bed to hide my face for a moment. He leaned on the desk across the room. "Hey Dan, what do you know about bows?"

"Not a whole lot. Just what you've told the group." I replied, sighing.

"Not much. Ok, so let me tell you something about bows. A bowyer, someone who makes bows, starts off with a piece of wood. He cuts it with a draw knife, or a saw, or some other cutting tool. He has to cut it so the grain is exactly straight up the side of the bow because that is the strongest part. It can take the most tension. Of course, sometimes there's an askew grain. The bowyer can do one of two things: he can leave it, and risk it losing strength, or he can cut it off, and make sure the bow is as strong as it can be. Do you know what stage you're in? You've been cut, you aren't finished quite yet, but you have an askew grain. So, instead of you being weak, the bowyer, figurative or literal, if you believe in that sort of thing, is cutting off the grain so you can be sure to be as strong as you can be. You see what I'm saying?"

I simply nodded. Roy knew way too much about bows. But I understood what he was saying. After a moment of silence, he went up and started to go out.

"Hey Roy." I said, stopping him. He turned around, "Thanks."

"You're my teammate, Dan. Teammates take care of each other. I'm sure Batman taught you that. I hope he did. Oliver did to me."

With those last words, he left the room.


	9. Chapter 9

"Danny! Hey Danny, open up!" Dick said pounding on my door later that day.

I slid it open slowly. "What?"

"J'onn and the queen want to see you. In the hub."

"I'm not apologizing."

"I don't think she wants you to. I don't know. She just told me to go get you and I obeyed."

"You obeyed? You damn tool."

"Hey, calm down. She's the queen! And I am being nice."

Nice? Did Dick have a crush on Koriand'r? He was being really defensive of her. He was supposed to take my side.

We walked into the common area. Everyone was sitting on the couch, pretending not to notice us.

"What?" I said rudely. Dick punched me in the shoulder. I glared at him.

John opened his mouth, but Koriand'r beat him to the punch.

"You've insulted me, and I've insulted you. I have given this much consideration, and I have decided that you and I need to settle this the way we do on my planet. We will fight until one of us submits."

"You're... You're kidding, right?" I asked, shocked at this new revelation.

"Why would I be kidding? I am serious." She said, meeting my gaze again.

"I am afraid not, Daniel," John said gravely, "She is a great and stubborn woman. She already had come up with the terms."

"Alright, lay it on me, Princess."

"I am a queen, are you dense?"

"Your highness, he is using sarcasm. It's a form of insult." Dick chimed in, correcting her."

"ANYWAYS," she said, glaring at me, "If I win, you will become my slave for the rest of your miserable life." I looked at John. He just shrugged.

"What if I win?"

"If you could even win, I will join your team." She said, confidently. John purposely coughed.

"And... I will apologize." She muttered under her breath.

"No thanks."

"What?"

"No thanks. I don't agree. No fight."

"If you refuse, I will go back to Tamaran, take back the throne, then come and invade the Earth."

"Well... Shit..."

The fight took place on the 4th floor of the tower, which was the gym. It could be modified into a basketball court, a volleyball court, even a boxing ring. Right now it was just a normal court. I was in costume, but I had left my bat at the bank last night, so I had to fight her without a weapon.

I took a boxer's stance, southpaw. I could defend myself easily and dodge even easier, because I knew her hits would hurt. She flew at me from across the room. I dropped to my back so she would fly over.

I kicked myself up and took my stance again. She spun around, mid air, and came at me again. I grabbed her arms, but she was going too fast for me to stop. She slammed me into the wall, and punched me in the face. It hurt like hell and disoriented me, but I stayed focused. I barely slipped the second punch, then punched her twice with my left hand. She flipped backwards, throwing me onto the ground hard as she did this maneuver.

The right side of my face slid across the gym floor. I was sure I had gym burn on that side where my face was exposed. I started to pick myself back up, but she kicked me in the side, sending me a good distance. I landed rolling, but I was still in so much pain. I felt like one of my ribs had been broken.

The rest of the Titans were standing on the sidelines, cheering me on. I felt good that they were cheering for me, but it didn't help with the pain any. I started to stand up again, but with a plan in mind.

"Stay down!" She yelled, as she went to kick me again. I rolled to my side and grabbed her leg as it hit me in the belly. I gritted my teeth through the pain and grabbed her other leg. I took her down and elbowed her in the face a couple of times.

"Here's hoping they don't have Jujutsu where you're from." I muttered as I put her in an arm bar. I pulled back as hard as I could, not caring if I broke her arm or not.

She didn't know how to escape it, and it was visibly hurting her, but she was strong enough that she could just pick me up without escaping. I kicked off of her. I did not want to be slammed on the ground by Koriand'r.

I quickly got back into it. I wasn't sure how much training she'd had, but I was sure that I'd had more. I threw two jabs, then ducked under her wild swing. I punched her quickly in the back 7 or 8 times, then grabbed her around the neck before she could turn around.

I choked her hard, and wrapped my legs around her so she couldn't flip me off. She pulled at my arm, but couldn't pull as hard without air. Thank god she breathed oxygen.

She flew backwards, slamming us into the wall. I gasped for air as the wind was knocked out of me, but my grip held true. She slammed me into the wall three or four more times, choking and trying to get some air, but she eventually collapsed unconscious. I let her go and rolled over to my hands and knees. I couldn't help but smile, despite being cut up, bruised, and possibly broken. I had beaten the rightful queen of Tamaran singlehandedly.

"I must say, this was not the outcome I was expecting." John said as he made sure Koriand'r was ok.

"To be completely honest, I was expecting to lose. Ah, hell... I think I broke my ribs." I said as I got to my feet. I rubbed my side, but it hurt.

"Let me see." He said as he came over. He felt my side, as Alfred had done multiple times. "Hmm... I believe you are fine. Your side is badly bruised, but it doesn't feel broken."

"Thanks John." I said to him. I turned to the rest of the group. "Now's as good a time as any, I guess. I'm going on vacation. Heading back to Gotham. See you guys in a week or two."

Everyone looked surprised, except for Roy and Meg. I left the room, got changed into Civilian clothes, borrowed a motorcycle, and headed to the airport. I probably should've taken a rest, maybe interrogated Duela, but I was tired of this town.


	10. Chapter 10

"Alfred!" I yelled as I saw him when I arrived in Gotham. I limp-ran over to him, and gave him a hug.

"Good god, master Daniel, what did you do to yourself? You look like you've been in a war!" He said as I let go.

"Not quite, but close. How's Bruce?"

"Master Bruce has been well enough. He's been overly stressed, but I understand that you aren't here to, ahem... Traverse rooftops and the like?

"No." I said as we both got in the good old Cadillac, "What's he stressed about?"

"He and Miss Barbara both, actually. I worry about her, it's affecting her schoolwork. They have spent the last few weeks trying to find a serial killer."

"What's his MO?"

"Really Master Daniel, you don't have to-"

"I want to know, Alfred. If I can help any, I will."

"I don't want you to. You're on vacation. What you told me over the phone, well that's horrifying. I don't want you to be worse than you are."

"Alfred, please. Bruce and Babs, they're my family. You all are my family. If I can help any, I need to."

After a moment of silent driving, Alfred nodded. "I suppose if I were in your position, I would want to do the same. He has been nicknamed 'The Burner' by the GCPD. He kills using a type of incendiary explosive made of wax, kerosene, matches, and black powder. Enough black powder to fire a blunderbuss."

"Not the best way to build a bomb."

"I know. That is why he's a serial killer and not a terrorist."

"Right. Who does he target?"

"People between the ages of 15 and 30. Generally wealthy, upper class people. He sets off bombs and social gatherings, such as parties. No one has ever seen him though."

"He's probably in his twenties then, but he looks young. He has to be able to blend in so he can place the bombs, and a 15 year old can't really blend in with adults."

"Master Bruce speculated the same thing. Most of his victims are white, but that's probably because most upper class people are white."

"Does he seem to be targeting anyone in particular? Jobs? Families? Areas of residence?"

"No. The only thing all the victims have in common are that they are upper class people. Business owners, rich children, etcetera. He also doesn't seem to be targeting anyone in particular. He places the bombs in a place where lots of people will be gathered."

"Hm... So he has something against the upper class? What about government officials? Have any of them been killed."

"A New Jersey senator, but that's it. He was just at one of the parties. Master Bruce has been to about 5 of these parties to try and catch the culprit in the act, but he hasn't seen anyone place the bombs. He just sees them blow up."

We pulled into Wayne Manor's garage. It felt like forever since I'd been there, but it felt like home. Not much seemed to have changed.

"Where's Bruce? At the office?" I asked Alfred as we got out of the car.

"Yes, I do believe so. Are you going to go visit him?"

"No. I think I'll head to the cemetery first."

"Oh... I see. Well, I shan't stop you. Take any car you'd like. Master Bruce has acquired a few more since you left." Alfred said, hanging up the keys to the Cadillac. I finally settled on an old classic, a 1969 Dodge Challenger. This wasn't one of Bruce's new cars, but it was one of my favorites.

"Master Daniel?" Alfred asked before I left.

"Yeah Alfred?"

"It is... It's good to see you. I'm glad you're home."

"It's good be home, Alfred. I needed this." I said to him, smiling. I waved goodbye, then drove off.

Kam's grave was right next to my mother's. They were both simple headstones. They said their names, their birth dates, their death dates, and Rest in Peace. I wished that they had said more, or been more ornamental, but my mom never wanted a fancy headstone and most people thought that Kam didn't deserve a headstone at all, least of all a nice one. There were fresh flowers at both of their graves, which means my father, Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke, had been there. I hoped I wouldn't run into him, although I wouldn't fight him if I saw him. Not here.

I stood there for about 10 minutes, when Barbara Gordon came up beside me.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" I asked her, smiling.

"I'm almost graduated. I can afford to skip half a day. "She laughed. We hugged. "How are you Danny?"

"I've been better. I'm guessing you know about the whole beating people worse than they deserve thing?"

"Yeah. There was a whole article about it. People are calling you psychotic. Is any of that stuff true?"

I just nodded. "Was there another article or anything yesterday? Or today?"

"No, why? What the hell did you do?"

I told her about yesterday night, when I cut the man's fingers off. She rubbed her temples with the thumb and forefinger of her right hand.

"Danny... You can't do that. What the hell were you thinking?" She said. Her voice faltered at the end of her sentence. "Bruce will kill you."

"I know. I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't. I lost patience. I am just... I'm just sick of feeling bad about Kam and my mom."

Barbara looked at me for a second. She looked even better than she did a year ago, if that was possible. She took my hand in hers, then gave me a hug.

"Danny... You need to stop." She whispered in my ear as she hugged me, "It's not your fault, ok? Don't do this to yourself."

"Babs, I can't. I feel like I could've stopped Kam's death. I let her down, Babs. I let my mom down."

She broke her hug, and touched my cheek below my floor burn. I was taller than her now, so she was looking up at me. "Danny... You didn't. You're letting her down now by being so cruel, but you didn't let Kam die, he chose to. Promise me you'll stop this. Stop feeling so guilty. It's not your fault."

I pulled my face away slowly and avoided eye contact.

"Tell me about this serial killer." I asked her quietly, changing the subject quickly.

"Alfred told you?" She asked. She was clearly pissed that I didn't promise her, but I couldn't lie. Not to Babs. I nodded. "What did he tell you?"

"M.O., targets, never been seen, relative age, etcetera."

"I don't have much else to tell you. I am 99% sure he's going to attacks the prom."

"Well, that's where we can get him then. It won't look strange that we are there, and he might not blend in as well as he thinks. Have you already been asked?"

"Yeah, by a couple of guys. I am not sure which one I am going to go with yet."

"None of them. You and I are going together. That way we won't be distracted by any dates and we can devote more time to watching for the Burner." I said simply.

"Oh my god..." She said quietly, "You sound just like him."

I almost asked who, but then I realized. Batman. I sounded just like Batman. Oh god... I was becoming just like him.

"Ok... Look. I will go to prom with you, but we can't just look for the Burner. We have to dance and stuff. And you have to get me a corsage. And get a nice tux. It's my last prom, and I want it to be special."

With those last words, she left. I was confused and left there wondering what the hell a corsage was.


	11. Chapter 11

"A corsage, Master Daniel," Alfred explained after laughing at me for a good two minutes, "is an arrangement of flower or flowers that traditionally is pinned to the top of a woman's dress, although I understand the style now is putting it on a bracelet."

"Oh, and girls like this? Like that's something they wear to proms and stuff?" I asked.

"How did you not know this? You and Miss Bertinelli saw each other for over six months."

"I didn't go to prom. I decided to help Bruce that night. I was mourning. She understood. I think."

"What about television? Surely your mother watched television."

"Rarely. When she did, she only watched movies that me and Kam wanted to. For family movie night. Mostly just action and sports movies."

"Oh my... Your mother was a saint."

"You don't know the half of it. So where do I get a corsage? Also, is my tux still in the cave?"

"I will make you one. Yes, but it won't fit you, so I suppose I'll have to make you one of those too. What color is her dress?"

"Why do I have to know that?"

Alfred smacked his own face. He slowly rubbed his hand down it, then he put it back to his temple.

"So the corsage can match, and your tie and vest can match her. Do you know nothing?"

"I guess so. Sorry Alfred, you're my favorite."

"After this, I better be. Text Miss Barbara and ask her. Tell me what she says."

I texted Babs. "Hey, um... What color is ur dress?"

She texted back a few moments later. It was a picture of a swatch of purple fabric. I showed Alfred.

"Hm... I would say that is... Violeta. A bold choice. I think Miss Barbara will stand out at the dance though. I will get on your corsage and tuxedo right away."

"Thanks Alfred. You're the best."

"I know sir..."

Alfred left, leaving me alone in the entryway. I decided to head down to the cave and see if anything has changed.

My area was still there. All it had still was the hammock and the wardrobe, but it was still there. Nothing about the cave had changed much. There was more clutter around, but that's it. On a steel table by the Batcomputer, there was a bunch of papers. I decided to snoop.

I figured out shortly that it was the case file for the Burner. Suspects, psychological profile, pictures of evidence, that kind of stuff.

All of the suspects had red marker x's on them, meaning that Batman didn't suspect any of them. Some of the evidence pictures had x's on them too, which means that Batman didn't think that it was relevant evidence. I decided to read the profile.

"The suspect is presumed to be a white male, between the ages of 18 and 27. He can pass as a teenager, but also as an adult. He targets upper class people between the ages of 15 and 30. He usually kills at parties and other social gatherings, suggesting that the killer can blend in with the group he targets. He seems to have an anti-authority complex. It is very possible that the killer believes the upper class secretly controls the government, which is why he may be killing; he believes he is 'giving the power back to the people.' The killer is spry, and may have some combat training."

"Catching up on some reading?" I heard a voice say behind me. I spun around. It was Bruce. I ran up to hug him, but instead stretched my hand out for him to shake. He wasn't a hugger.

"Hey Bruce." I said simply as he shook my hand.

"Hello Dan. How've you been doing?"

"Not the best. You know about everything, right?"

"That you've been using more brutality than necessary? Yes. Am I mad? Yes. But I'm glad you're here. I can help you. Before we discuss the case, how are the Titans?"

I sat down in the Batcomputer chair. Bruce pulled up a chair and sat near me.

"They're good. The team works well. Dick is a good leader."

"Good. I was considering that choice. I originally wanted you to be leader, but Dick needed the experience."

I looked at him. I was surprised. He thought I was a good leader? He laughed, and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Tell me about your most recent mission." He said to me, smiling. Bruce, as fake as the man was, he was very charismatic.

"I thought you would know." I said, shocked that he didn't know yet.

"I actually don't," he explained, "J'onn doesn't tell me much, and neither does anyone else."

"Ok... Well there was a meteor..." I started to explain. I told him the whole story. Koriand'r's ship crashing in front of my car, how she almost killed me, Dick's plan, and the interrogation. I ended the debrief right after the fight. He looked proud of me, but I made sure to credit his teaching.

"Sounds like quite the trip. Are you enjoying your time with the Titans?"

"I suppose. I don't like San Fransisco as much as Gotham. It's too hot there for me."

"Good." He said, nodding slowly. He picked up the Burner's profile. "What do you think?"

"I think the age of the killer can be changed. I would say... 17 to 24. Most conspiracy theorists in Gotham are between those ages. Also, all the killings, according to the list of attacks, take place between the hours of 4:00 pm and 2:00 am, suggesting that the killer is a student, either a high school student or college student, which may be why he's targeting the upper class. He doesn't think it's fair that he has to pay expensive school fees while the upper class pays a small fraction of what they have."

"Hmm... I think you're right. An FBI profiler came up with this, but I don't think it's accurate. Your profile of the killer is better."

"What can I say? I learned from the best." I said, laughing. Bruce laughed at this too. It was kind of like old times. After the laughter died, Bruce spoke up.

"The most likely next target is Gotham High prom. I think you should ask-"

"Let me cut you off there." I interrupted, "I already asked Babs so we could spend most of the time watching for the killer."

"Good. You're a step ahead of me. Let me show you where the most likely locations for the bomb will be."

He pulled up the schematics of the high school's gym. He pulled out his marker and marked four locations.

"Here," He said, pointing at a location he'd circled, "is the refreshment table. This is an easy location to place a bomb, but it will also be easy to find a bomb. The Burner knows where to put them. The next location is a spot on the floor. According to Batgirl, this is the spot where the most people stand around at dances. This wouldn't be easy to plan though, since it isn't certain that it will be crowded. The stage may be a possible place, since it would be easy to hide a bomb there. I think the most likely spot for a bomb to be placed is here, around the door. He could detonate it while people are leaving, and that would maximize damage."

"Got it. I'll watch all of those places." I said, standing up. It was getting late, and I needed to sleep. "Night."

"Goodnight, and Dan, don't beat on the Burner more than necessary." He said. He gave that warning, but it didn't feel threatening. It felt more like he was concerned.

The next two weeks went by quickly. I didn't do much. I hung out with Alfred, watched him make my tux and eventually Barbara's corsage. I hung out in the cave and looked over evidence, "witness" accounts, testimonies, etc., and I trained a little. It felt good, having my life so simple.


	12. Chapter 12

"I must say, Master Daniel, you look quite dashing." Alfred said while he was tying my tie. I never did learn how. My father wasn't exactly around to teach me. "I did a very good job."

"Yes, Alfred, you did." Bruce said happily, "I think this is your best work. It fits you very well, Danny. You look sharp."

"Thanks Bruce. And thank you very much, Alfred. It feels great. I feel like James Bond."

"And you look like you could be. Would you like me to teach you to slow dance?"

"I already know how to dance."

"But not like I do. I-"

"Alfred," Bruce interrupted, sparing me Alfred's dancing lesson, "I think that he needs to go pick up Barbara."

"Right you are, Master Bruce! Oh my, where do the times go? Why, it seems like just yesterday that Master Richard was telling me to pick up a boy who was running to school because he missed the bus."

"Thanks Alfred. I'm pretty sure you and my mom would've gotten along really well."

"I'm sure we would've too. She would be so proud of the man you've become, Master Daniel." He said, hugging me. He hugged me for a while, then Bruce purposely coughed. "Right, sorry, Master Daniel. I just never had a child of my own."

"It's alright Alfred. Thanks again!"

"Here Danny." Bruce said, holding out the keys to his Challenger, "Don't crash my car into any meteors."

We both had a good laugh, then I grabbed the keys. He shook my hand, but passed me an object covertly while he did. It was an extending baton. This would give me an edge if I had to fight the burner.

When I neared Barbara's house, I started to get really nervous. Her dad knew that I was the Dayhound. Would he figure out that she was Batgirl? Did she tell him that I was taking her?

By the time I got to Barbara's house, I almost couldn't get out of the car. After I sat in the car for about thirty seconds, I took a deep breath and practically ran up the door.

Commissioner Gordon, Babs' dad, opened the door, and glared at me. He slammed it shut. A few seconds later, Babs opened it. She looked gorgeous. Her dress was a bright purple. It was long, sleeveless, and cut off just about the perfect spot on her chest. It was classy. Her hair was done up eloquently in some sort of fancy bun thing. If I knew more about hair, maybe I'd have a name for the style. Her makeup was glittery and well-done. It was the perfect combination between classy and normal. To top it all off, red lipstick covered her full lips in a way that made me want to kiss her.

"Sorry about that. Dad doesn't exactly like you, you know?" She said, despite my gawking.

"Uh... Yeah, I uh... Wow, you look great!" I stammered out. I felt like an idiot until she started giggling. It made me feel all gooey inside.

"Thanks! You aren't so bad yourself! Man, that fits you really well!" She said, walking around me. I turned beet red, but didn't say anything about it.

"Thanks, uh... Alfred made it." I pretty much coughed out. I had forgotten to breathe.

"Alfred's a good tailor."

"Here this is for you." I nervously said, holding out her corsage. She held out her wrist and I slid it on. Then her stepmom, Sarah came out with a large camera.

"Ok you guys, stand on the stoop and I'll take your picture. You two are so cute together!" Sarah said. She was an energetic blonde woman. She was younger than Commissioner Gordon by about 5 years, but she looked like she was 10 years younger. But she was a kind and patient woman. She even waited twice for my face to change back to a normal color before taking the picture, once when she called us cute together, and the other when Barbara wrapped her arms around me for the picture.

"Ok, you kids have fun. Don't stay out too late!" Sarah said after taking the pictures.

"We will. Thanks Sarah!"

We hopped in the car. I remembered to open the door for her and everything.

"So, you ready to hear the plan?" I asked her once we were a little ways away from the house. She sighed.

"Can't we just, you know, enjoy ourselves and just keep an eye open?" Barbara said, disappointedly. I had thought the plan was to look for the Burner, but clearly Barbara wasn't planning on wholeheartedly looking for the Burner.

"Um... Yeah, I guess so. I thought we were here to just look for him. But it's ok. Sorry."

"No, it's ok. It's just, this is my last prom. I know that you don't care about prom, but I want it to be special. I could've gone with one of the other three guys who asked me, in a special way might I add, but I chose to go with you. You're one of my best friends, and I knew that it could be a great prom with you."

I was silent for a moment. Was I so dense that I didn't even think of Babs? Yes, I totally was. I felt bad silently for a moment, then I finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry Babs. I guess I am becoming like Batman. My whole life is becoming this, and as proud of me right now as Bruce is, that isn't necessarily a good thing. I didn't even think about your feelings. I was just focused on stopping this guy. It's still important to stop him, but I promise I won't mention him unless I see something suspicious."

"Thanks Danny. I appreciate that. And I'm sorry I said that you sounded exactly like him. You aren't him, but you have the potential to become him, and I just don't want you to be like that, you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because Batman, even with all of his soldiers, is lonely. He's the loneliest man I've ever met, and I don't want you to be like him."

"Thanks Babs, I appreciate that. I really do."

"Can I tell you something? It's kind of weird..."

"Uh... How weird?"

"Just say yes or no."

"Sure."

"I love it when you call me Babs." She said coyly, "Like, other people call me Babs, and it's ok. But when you do it, oh wow... I just love it." I turned bright red.

"Uh... I... Uh..." I stuttered, unsure of what to say. I almost slammed on the brakes, I was so shocked.

"Don't say anything. I know that you won't, because of Dick. Just... Just let me have tonight. Act like you're allowed to love me. Forget about Dick Grayson."

"Babs... Barbara... I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything." She said, slipping her hand into my free hand, which rested on the gear shift. I let go every once in a while when I had to shift gears, but my fingers always found their way back into hers.

When we got to the school, we quickly got out and got inside, I didn't know how to react to her, but I just went with the flow.

Once we were inside, I ran into the people I least wanted to: Helena and Michael.

"Oh my god," Helena said as soon as she saw me, "Danny?"

"Hey Helena." I said quietly. I wasn't sure how to react to her.

"Holy shit, I haven't seen you in what? A year? You look good... Sharp, I mean." She told me as she and Michael came over. "Have you met Michael? This is Michael Mariani, my boyfriend. Michael, this is Daniel Wilson, my ex boyfriend."

I shook the guy's hand, but he kind of glared at me. I felt super uncomfortable. I looked at Babs, and I could see she felt the same.

"So you're here with Barbara? How are you? How long has it been since I've seen you?"

"About a year and a half..." Babs muttered.

"Right, right... In the bathroom that one time... I forgot about that."

I had forgotten about it too. Last time that Helena and Barbara had actually seen each other was about a month after Batman had started training me. I had been fired by him because I had killed a drug dealer in anger. Babs was sent to make me give up being a hero after I broke Dick's arm. She would've succeeded to, if Helena hadn't found us and helped me. I wondered if Barbara was still mad about that.

"So where are you living these days, Danny? I haven't seen you at school since your brother... You know..." Helena said. Why was she still talking to me? I could tell that Michael just wanted to leave us, but Helena kept talking.

"Um... I moved out west. California. For my 'job' you know?" I answered, hoping she would catch what I was talking about. Helena had found out early in my career as a superhero that I was the Dayhound, and she supported me up until Kam died."

"Right, right. I remember reading an article about..." She started to say before she remembered Michael was there "...about how your job is doing well out west."

Great, so Helena had read an Ivo article. I felt guilty about that all of the sudden. Why did I care so much what she thought?

"Well, it was great seeing you!" She finally said after Michael was getting visibly impatient, "See you around."

"Yup."

They both walked away, towards the gym. I looked at Babs. She wore a smile on her face, but her fists were clenched tightly.

"I can't believe you dated that slut." She finally whispered once they were out of earshot.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Dude, she was flirting with you that whole time. Even with Michael there! She might be dating that guy, but trust me when I say that she isn't exclusively his. Honestly, you're the only guy she's dated who she didn't cheat on."

"She's the first girl I've dated. Most girls liked Kam, you know? I was always his brother. I went to a few parties, but she was the first girl I'd kissed."

"Isn't she the only girl?"

"Um... No..." I muttered nervously.

"Danny!" She said, slapping me on the arm. "What kind of best friend are you?"

"What?"

"You're supposed to tell me who you kiss when you kiss them."

"You don't tell me-"

"I'm a girl. That's different. Girls don't kiss and tell."

"Ok, fine. I'll tell you from now on, jeez... Let's just get to the dance."

I escorted her in. There were several people, but not that many. We were kind of early. I wanted to go check Bruce's possible bomb sites, but I couldn't yet. Not with Babs right there. I could only check the doorway. From what I could see, there was no bomb yet.

We kind of milled around for the first 15 minutes. Babs talked to her friends, she and I made small talk, that kind of stuff. I saw Coach Crock and talked to him for a minute or so, but I didn't have much to talk to him about. Although he was better friends with Kam, he was probably the teacher I connected the most with. It was good to see him again.


	13. Chapter 13

"Hey, this is a slow song, huh?" Barbara said about 15 minutes in to the dance. I was dense, but even I got that hint. I held out my hand. She took it, then put her arms on my shoulders. I took her waist in my hands.

"So... Who have you all kissed? Just to catch me up."

"Not that many girls." I said, laughing. "I can count them all without thinking."

"Ok, who?"

I was probably a little pink because I felt hot.

"Helena, obviously, Megan, and... I can't tell you the other one." I said, laughing. Babs giggled.

"Why not?"

"Because it was weird and we said we wouldn't bring it up again."

"Tell me, please! I won't tell anyone." She said, pulling me closer.

I wanted to keep my promise to Zatanna, but I had to tell someone who wasn't Vic. I knew that Barbara couldn't tease me much about it because she didn't know Zatanna well.

"Zatanna."

"Zatanna? As in, Zatanna Zatara?" She asked, surprised. I nodded. "When?"

"Two months ago." I lied. I was too good at lying. "It was just a spur of the moment thing. A little kiss. We hate each other still."

I hated lying to Barbara, but I couldn't stop myself. It all came out easier than the truth.

"Why are you so surprised by that?" I asked.

"Just because I didn't know you were good friends with Zatanna. Or that you liked her."

"I'm not! And I don't!"

"Danny, get real. You can't kiss someone 'spur of the moment' that you don't like."

"Really Babs, it was just a spur of the moment thing. It was late at night and just a little kiss." I told her. That time I only lied once. She didn't see through my lies, as far as I could tell, but she not look amused.

"Ok, whatever you say. I've never kissed anyone who I don't like a little bit though. Especially not someone I hated."

She pulled herself a little closer. Our noses were almost touching when we looked each other in the eye. "Enough about her though. Let's talk about us."

"Babs... There is no 'us.' I hate to say it, but you know why."

"There is for tonight though. Maybe, if you like it enough, there can be an us."

Part of me wanted to push her away a little, reject her advances. But there was also the part of me that has always wanted this. I'd had dreams about Barbara before. Most of the time not sexual ones, don't get the wrong idea, but there was no denying that I did want to be with Babs, at least a part of me.

"God... You're so beautiful." I whispered to her, "I hate this. I hate Dick." She rested her head on my shoulder.

"Forget about him," She whispered in my ear, "Let's just do this without him."

I only had one thing that kept me from taking her out of here and making out with her. The Burner. I clung to him like an old man clings to a rope on a cliff. Not wanting to hold on, but still doing so.

Pretty much every slow dance that night was like that. We would talk for a little while, then she would try to convince me that this wasn't wrong. I wasn't sure if it was wrong, beau as it felt right.

Finally, it was time to crown the prom queen and king. This whole thing was Deja vu to me. I had had a dream like this two weeks ago.

When they crowned Michael prom king, I realized that both Helena and Barbara were wearing the same dresses from the dream. It hadn't been a dream, it was a vision.

"Oh shit..." I muttered.

"What?" Babs asked me.

"I'm sorry Babs, but the Burner. He's about to... Sorry."

I pulled my pocket hanky over my face to make a makeshift mask. People here might recognize me. I sprinted to the stage. I had to go fast. Ms. Di'Ve was holding the tiara. There wasn't time to find the bomb. I jumped up on stage and tackled Helena off. It blew up right as I got off the stage. I covered her up with my body, so the debris rained on me and not her. It hurt, but it was soon over.

"Danny..." She muttered under her breath, as she stared into my eyes. I didn't say anything, I just nodded. She touched my cheek. "Danny I still love you."

I closed my eyes. I couldn't do this. Not now, probably not ever. I stood back up, just in time to see someone going out the back door.

I sprinted after him, shoving gawking bystanders out of my way. I just hoped Barbara would see me.

I got out just in time to see him turn a corner. I speeded after him, quickly catching up. All of the sudden, Barbara came around the corner he was running to and hit him with a pipe. I tore off his plain matte mask. It was a kid, but I recognized him. What was his name?

He burst a smoke bomb before we could grab him. Both Babs and I were choking on smoke. When it cleared, it was gone.

"Damn, we were so close!" I said loudly.

"I know, that was great! How did you know the bomb was going to go off?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

We got back in the car, and started to head back towards Barbara's house.

"Pull over in this alley!" Barbara told me about 11 blocks away from her house.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I said so!"

Instead of arguing it, I just did. She unbuckled and turned towards me.

"I don't have to be home until 12:30." She told me. It was 11:30.

"So?" I asked her, clearly not getting what she was saying. She didn't speak. She just put her hair down, pushed my seat back, and straddled my lap. She began kissing me. I was kissing her too. We made out for a good five minutes, when she stopped, and pulled my jacket, my vest, and my tie off. I started kissing her neck. She pulled off my shirt and made me stop kissing for a second.

"Danny, I want this. I want to know for sure that you do." She said to me, rubbing softly up and down my chest.

"I do, Babs, I really do." I said, then we started kissing again. I was feeling up and down her body, squeezing her butt and other things when I got to it. She was feeling me up plenty as we kissed too. I started unzipping her dress when a name popped into my head: Anarky.

"Anarky, Babs!" I yelled out, pulling away from her lips.

"What the hell are you talking about? That is the strangest thing to yell out during foreplay." She said, completely shocked.

"No, that's who it was! The Burner! He's the kid I took down one and a half years ago. He was Anarky!"

Instead of looking happy, she looked pissed. She got off my lap, back into her seat, and passed me my shirt back.

"What's wrong?" I said genuinely.

"Danny, I can't have sex with Batman." She said bluntly. I had done it again. Shit. "I needed you to have only me on your mind."

"No, Babs-"

"That's Barbara, to you!"

"Barbara, I swear, you were all I was thinking about. Anarky just popped into my head. I swear to god, I was only thinking about-"

"Save it Danny!" She yelled with a few tears running down her face, "Take me home."

"Babs..."

"Take me home, Daniel Wilson."

The ride back to Barbara's was quiet and lonely. She didn't talk to me at all. The drive back to Wayne manor was even lonelier.


	14. Chapter 14

"Ah, Master Daniel," Alfred said as I dragged my feet in. I had my shirt back on, but I was holding the other stuff. "How was the prom?"

"Fine. The prom was fine." I said flatly, walking over to him. I sat on a bench near him. "I messed up Alfred. I messed up more than anything."

He hustled over to me and say next to me. "What happened, Master Daniel?"

I told him everything that had happened in the car. I held back on some detail, but that was for his sake.

"Master Daniel... Do you want my opinion on this?" He asked me, placing his hand on my arm. I nodded. "I think you should stop this. Quit the Dayhound altogether, have a normal life."

"I can't Alfred. This is all I know. I haven't gone to high school for the past yeah, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get into college with my school."

"You know who you sound like? Me. You sound exactly like me when the war ended. I had come back, didn't have a high school degree, and all I knew how to do was kill. Butler was not my first choice of career, but I am all the better for it. Because I became the Wayne's butler when Master Bruce was a baby, I watched a boy grow into a young man, I was able to comfort this boy when his parents were shot in an alley, I was here for Master Richard when his parents died, I watched him grow into a young man who was as selfless as could be. I watched you grow up quicker than you should've, but I was here for you and your brother when your mother died. If I hadn't become the Wayne's butler all those years ago, I wouldn't have made the impact I had. Sometimes, your true calling is not what you think it would be."

I didn't know what to say. I wasn't sure how long I had planned to be the Dayhound, but I never planned to quit. I wasn't sure how long we stayed in there, but eventually Bruce came in after saving the city for the night.

"Ah, Danny, you're awake. Good. You can debrief me." He said, drying his hair. He had just showered. I stood up, reorganizing myself before I spoke.

"We almost managed to catch the Burner, but he surprised us with a smoke bomb and alluded us."

"Damn. Do you have anything to go on?"

"Yes, actually. I saw his face and ID'ed him already. I can't remember his first or last name, but I remember who he is. He's a low level criminal I took down around the time I was just starting: Anarky.

"Good job, Dayhound. Get some sleep."

"Yes sir." I said as I went up stairs to my room. I didn't realized how exhausted I was. I fell asleep as soon as I was in bed.

—

"Are you in position, Dayhound?" Batman said in my ear communicator.

"Yeah. On three?"

"On three." He said quietly. He counted to three, then I busted through the window to Anarky's house. Batman busted through the front door.

Anarky as in he saw us, he ran for the other window, but I cut him off.

He spun around for the door, but Batman's massive form filled the small doorframe. Anarky, panicked, but he picked up a butcher's knife off the table. He slashed at my throat, but I dodged backwards. Batman ran up behind him, but Anarky held him back by slashing at him. I charged him, and grabbed his hand as he chopped down. I twisted his arm and smacked his elbow, breaking it. He cried out in pain, but Batman punched Anarky in the chin, knocking him out.

"Whew... You and I make a good team, huh?" I said, breathing out a heavy breath. I swore I saw him almost smile. He'd never even got that close before while he was Batman.

"Dayhound," He said, after tying up Anarky. "Don't beat people more than they deserve. And don't cut off fingers during interrogations. Break as many bones as you want until they tell you, but leave them attached."

"I know. I just... I have so much going on right now. My life isn't the same as it was a year ago."

"Maybe that's a good thing." He said, pulling his cowl down. You don't have to be alone, Danny. Alfred, me, Dick, and the titans, we are all here for you."

I felt like hugging him. Bruce or Batman, or whoever, he was the closest thing I have ever had to a father. He wasn't the greatest, but he was what I needed. I may have been a good soldier, but I was only that way because I thought of Batman as my father, not my leader. I chose not to hug him, despite feeling like I should.

"Master Bruce, Master Daniel," Alfred's voice chimed in my earpiece, "Both a shipment at the harbor and a bank in the diamond district are being robbed."

"You deal with the bank," Batman ordered me, "I'll get to the harbor. Take the Batmobile."

I nodded, then jumped out the window I crashed through. I landed in the car, shut the top, then sped off.

I got to the bank fast. It was one of those high rise, digital banks. Most of the money there was digital, but a skilled hacker could transfer it over to an offshore account in a couple of hours. I ejected out of the Batmobile, and used my grapple gun to grapple up to a broken window. Judging by the bodies of the security guards, the window was broken by bullets.

I sneaked as I followed a trail of bodies, but eventually I heard commotion. It sounded like fighting. There was no way Batman had finished up at the harbor then made it here in that amount of time. I looked around the corner. There were some guys firing submachine guns, but it didn't seem like they were hitting much. They stopped shooting.

"Is she dead?" One of them asked. Were they shooting at Batgirl. A crossbow bolt from the shadows nailed one of the men in the chest.

"Shit! Get down!" A different one screamed. They took cover behind a few desks. Now was my chance.

I pulled out the extending baton from a pocket in my coat. I extended it, and sneaked up behind them. I brought the baton down on the nearest's head.

"Oh crap! It's the Dayhound!" He said, staggering back. This baton wasn't nearly as effective as my bat. I whipped him in the face with it, then took him as a human shield.

"Drop him, Dayhound!" They yelled, pointing their guns toward me and my hostage. They had forgotten about their crossbow assailant. A bolt flew through the air, barely missing one's head. It nailed a computer monitor next to him. They all cursed and swore, scattering in all different directions.

I bashed my hostage in the face multiple times, until he went limp, then pounced on another one.


	15. Chapter 15

The men took cover and started shooting at their unseen assailant. I took this chance and tackled the one nearest to the back. He managed to lock my head, but a few elbows to the ribs got him to loosen up. I wildly rained down hammer fists on his face to knock him out.

The rest of the men noticed me, obviously. They started shooting at me again. I took cover behind an overturned desk. I tossed a stapler at the one nearest to me. He stood up, clearly very angry. This was a bad idea for him.

He started running towards me, machine gunning wildly. Suddenly, he fell forward, dead. There was a crossbow bolt buried deep in his back.

"Shit!" One of the last three men called. I took this opportunity to dive over the desk and quickly disarm all three of them.

A woman stepped out of the shadows. There was a large crossbow strapped to her back, and two more pistol sized ones strapped to her thighs. She had dark brown hair, and wore a purple skintight outfit, covered by a dark overcoat, similar to my white one. Her face was covered in shadows, but I could also see she wore a mask to hide her identity.

From her overcoat, she drew two single-bladed shorts swords. She lunged forward, slashing at one of the men with the blade in her right hand. He jumped back, but I grabbed him and threw him to the ground. She bashed another one in the face with the hilt of her sword, and I took him out with a flurry of blows. The last one she stabbed in the neck. I didn't want her to, but I let her. She was clearly on my side.

When the fight was over, she turned her face away from the lights, like she was trying to hide her identity.

"Hello, Dayhound." She spoke. Her voice was heavily computerized. She was wearing a voice changer. "I was not expecting to run into you here."

"Do I know you?" I asked.

"We have met once or twice. Never while I was in costume. I'm the Huntress." I could tell she was smiling, even with her face shadowed like that.

"Do you know who I am under the hood?" I asked her.

"I might." She said coyly. She was bluffing. She had to be. There's no way anyone could figure out that I was the Dayhound without figuring out that Batman was Bruce Wayne. "Come on. There's a hacker and a couple other guys on the floor above us trying to get the money. We have to go stop them."

We sneaked up the stairs, and quietly entered the next floor. Together, she and I were able to stealthily take out most of the guys on that floor. We got over to the server room without hardly a sound.

"Alright," I whispered to the Huntress, "No killing. Got it?"

"I knew you'd be like this." She whispered back, "My way is faster."

"Don't kill them. If you can help it."

"Fine..."

She put her swords away, then we burst into the room. There were 5 men, including the hacker. The hacker appeared to be unarmed, but the other four held M-16's I dove on the nearest one to my left and slammed his head into one of the server banks. I grabbed his gun and charged the other one on the left. Just before he fired, I threw my gun as hard as I could. It smacked him in the face, causing him to lose concentration and completely miss. I caught my gun while it was in the air and bashed him in the face with the butt of the assault rifle, knocking him out. I pulled out the clip of my gun and spun around, prepared to throw it, but the Huntress had already knocked out her two guys.

"Jesus, now hold it you two!" The Hacker said, stepping away from his computer and raising his hands, "Do you know who I am? I'm the Calculator, the best hacker in the world. I am almost done cracking this firewall, then, if you let me go, I will transfer all the money wherever you want me to."

"Nice try, Calculator." I growled, dropping the M-16 and clip. I stepped towards him.

"Danny, watch out!" The Huntress said, tackling me. Three pistol shots went off. The Huntress pulled out one of her small crossbows and shot at the Calculator, who was now holding a gun. The bolt embedded itself into his shoulder and forced him to the ground. The Huntress hopped up off of me and punched him in the face to knock him out.

"Did you just call me Danny?" I asked her. She turned her face away from the light again.

"No. You must've misheard."

"I swear you just-"

"Look, the rest of the men definitely know we are here now. They are going to try and escape via chopper on the roof. Do you wanna stay here arguing about what I called you, or do you wanna stop them?"

I agreed with her. We were wasting time. We ran up the stairs to the roof. We arrived just in time. They were starting to board the chopper.

"Get them!" The leader of the pack yelled. I recognized him. He was a mob enforcer who worked for Franco Bertinelli. High level.

About eight guys surrounded us. I looked over at the Huntress, then tossed a bunch of smoke pellets on the roof.

I ran through the smoke, trying to find everyone. It was fairly easy, because most of them were coughing. I took out about three of them before the smoke cleared. I was surprised when it did, because the Huntress had taken out the other five.

The chopper was starting to take off. The Huntress pulled a hand grenade off of one of the unconscious men and tossed it as hard as she could at the helicopter. It crashed through the windshield and blew up, sending the copter crashing into the street below.

"What the hell was that?" I roared. She shrugged.

"He was getting away. I couldn't let him. He is high level in Bertinelli's crew."

"So what? You might've killed innocent people!"

"I couldn't let him get away!" She yelled, "He's the reason I came here. I am hunting down Bertinelli's crew."

"Why?" I growled.

"Revenge." She said calmly. She burst a smoke bomb, then spoke again, "Sorry Danny, but I can't let you stop me."

By the time the smoke cleared, she was gone. I thought about searching for her, but I doubted I would've found her. She was clearly allusive, if she was hunting Bertinelli's men.

I decided to head back to the Batmobile. Batman arrived there at about the same time.

"Did you handle it?" He asked me. I nodded.

"Sort of. Bottom line, the bank robbery was stopped. No one was overly brutalized by me."

"Good, now let's-" Batman started to say, before we heard a grunt over by the Batmobile. He both crouched and sneaked over there.

There was a kid there. He looked about eight. He held a tire iron and was trying to steal the hubcaps off the Batmobile. Batman stood up.

The kid, instead of running, swung the tire iron wildly at Batman. The Caped Crusader caught it and took it from the boy's hands. He should've ran then. Instead, the boy tried to tackle him. Batman dropped the tire iron, caught the kid, then put him back on his feet.

"Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you." Batman said in a calm voice that I had never heard before. "What's your name?"

"Jason." The boy said quietly.

"Where are your parents, Jason?" Batman asked him. The boy shrugged. This was a side of Batman I had never see before. He was calm, docile, dare I say, sweet even. Maybe Dick had seen this side of the Bat, after his parents were murdered at the circus all those years ago.

"Come on, Jason. We are going to try and find them." Batman said, letting him in the Batmobile. He shut the door, then turned to me. "I trust you know the way home?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Good. Report back at the cave."

With that, he drove off. I cursed quietly, and started to walk home.


	16. Chapter 16

Once I got back to the cave, Bruce was updating his case file on the Burner, aka, Anarky.

"You find the kid's dad yet?" I asked him.

"No. I tried to, but there is no record of him in the database. There's record of him and his mother, but not his father. I'm thinking about taking him in. Training him."

I was shocked by this. Another sidekick? Wasn't three enough?

"Um... Don't you already have enough helpers?"

He looked at me briefly, then turned back to the computer.

"You will be leaving me soon. Dick will probably be too. Barbara will stay for a few more years, but she can't keep this up forever. She has too much of a life. I need to start training a new generation of soldiers."

"So that's all he is to you? A soldier?" I asked angrily. He turned to me.

"That boy is alone. He is exactly like you were. Do you feel like I just made you into a soldier?"

"No... But that is what you did."

"Not just what I did. I gave you a home and a purpose. That's why I trained you. The only person I've trained who already had that stuff was Barbara, and that's because she figured who I was and insisted I train her. I couldn't pass on detective skills like that."

I wasn't sure what else to say, so I went upstairs, still in costume.

"Master Jason, you must go to sleep." I heard Alfred say from Kam's old room.

"But butler... Alfred, I don't wanna. I want to explore." The kid said. I poked my head in after pulling my hood down.

"Need any help in here, Alfred?" I joked with him. He did not seem amused.

"Considering how it's illegal to knock out a child, no. Are you done for the night, Master Daniel?"

"No. I think I'm going to try and look for someone. I need to find out something."

"Very well, be careful and don't stay out too late." He said, turning back to the bed. It was empty. "Oh dear... Jason Todd will be the death of me. Excuse me, Master Daniel..."

He pushed past me. I went to my room and grabbed my phone and pushed the button to turn it on. I had one voicemail from Barbara. I decided to listen to it.

"Hey Danny..." Her voice sounded sad on the voicemail, "It's me, Babs. I um... I don't know. I am sorry. I totally overreacted last night. I understand what happened, but you were totally right last night too. We were in over our heads... I was in over my head, last night, when I thought this could work. I'm sorry. I don't have any hard feelings. I'm sorry."

That's where the voicemail ended. I felt bad, despite the fact the admitted we were in over our heads. I didn't care that I didn't get laid last night, I just wanted Babs to be happy.

I shoved my phone in my pocket, put my hood and scarf up, then went down to the garage and took Robin's bike.

I drove around, scanning the police radio, looking at all of Bertinelli's sites, and scouring area nearby the bank, looking for that girl, the Huntress.

I finally heard something on the radio. Reports of violence, members of organized crime fighting an unknown assailant armed with crossbows. I heard the address, then sped off in search of a Huntress.

I found her in an old warehouse that was being shot at by 4 members of Bertinelli's crew. I leaped off the bike and tackled one of the shooters. I threw his gun at the one to my right, and his clip at the one to my left. I ran towards the only one left standing, dodging his bullets. I flying kicked him to the ground, knocking him out as he hit.

"Huntress!" I yelled to her. She came out a few seconds later, with her large crossbow aimed directly at me.

"Leave me alone, Dayhound!" She yelled at me, "You'll try and stop me from killing Bertinelli's men."

"As true as that may be, we need to fall back now. The police are on their way as we speak."

She slung her crossbow back onto her back, then ran to me. We ran back to the motorcycle and hopped on. I sped off right as the first policeman rolled in, but he didn't see us.

Once we were in the East End, I pulled over in an alley and we got off the bike

"Holy shit, Danny, that was amazing!" Huntress said excitedly. "I didn't know you had running from the cops in you!"

This was scary familiar. Like, i almost knew who said that by the way she said it, despite her voice changer. I pulled my mask off, and looked her right in the eyes. They were blue. Like, ocean blue. Not like the real ocean, but more like one you'd see in a painting.

"Helena?" I asked her, turning her face towards me softly with my fingers.

"Oh just kiss me, Daniel Wilson." She muttered, softly placing her hands over my shoulders. I wasn't sure if I wanted to, but it felt too right, so I did.


	17. Chapter 17

We kissed for a long time. Longer than we probably should've in an alleyway. It wasn't a super-hot make out session either, but a very nice, very long kiss. Neither of us wanted to pull away, but I knew we had to eventually, so I did.

"Whew..." I said, as I pulled away and took a step back, sitting on a dumpster, "That was... Something..."

"Wasn't it, Danny?" She said seductively, straddling my lap, "I almost passed out due to lack of air."

I felt like I should've pushed her off, but I really didn't want to. There was something about that costume that drove me crazy in the best way. It wasn't even revealing at all. It was just plain old fashioned sexy.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to kiss you." She said, grabbing my wrists. She pushed me down on the dumpster firmly, and pinned my wrists to it. She started kissing my neck slowly.

"If I remember correctly," I said painfully. I was enjoying this a little too much, so it pained me to stop her, "You're the one who broke up with me."

She stopped kissing my neck, sat up, and started running her nail of her pointer finger down my cheek.

"I know," she said, "and that was one of the worst mistakes ever. Every guy I date is boring, only interested in sex, or scared off by my dad. Michael is only still around because he's hot and Italian, so my dad didn't want to scare him off. He was the perfect cover to make my dad think I was finally ready to be a part of the 'family.' The truth was the furthest from that. But no one, and I mean no one was ever able to replace you."

"You know," I said grabbing Helena's hips gently, "I am remembering a promise I made to you when I moved here. I would take down your dad no matter what, even if I had to kill him."

"Oh Daniel Wilson," she said, taking my face in my hands. She leaned down and kissed me, "I love you so much."

"I love you too. Now please get off of me so we can take down a mob boss."

She hopped off and helped me up off the dumpster. We kissed once more, I smacked her ass gently, then we hopped on the motorcycle.

We had a pretty good plan. Helena had killed enough high level members of Bertinelli's crew that they were all meeting together to figure out what to do about her. A normal person wouldn't know where this meeting was taking place. Hell, even Batman might not have been able to find it. But Helena knew where it would take place.

We drove outside of town for about half an hour. There was a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Supposedly there was a strong room beneath it, but I couldn't tell.

We got off the bike and tried the front door. It was unlocked, but there was bound to be guards inside. I told Helena to wait here until I was in, then I went around back.

There were a few windows on the backside, but upon closer examination, they were all bullet proof. This was definitely the right place. I tried to see if any of them were unlocked, but they didn't even open. Then I saw my way in.

I grappled to the roof, and looked down the chimney. It was a straight shot down to the fireplace. Lucky for me, there was no fire at the moment. I took a deep breath, and slid down slowly. The moment I was inside, Huntress kicked down the front door. She shot a guard with one of her smaller crossbows, then shot next to me with the other. I grabbed the bolt as it sailed through the air, spun, and stabbed a guard in the foot. I slammed his head into the wall. I pulled out my baton and bashed the last guard rapidly until he stopped moving.

"You'd think there would be more of them..." I said, putting the baton away.

"You're seriously still gonna use the voice with me, even though you know who I am?" Huntress asked, holstering her bows.

"I use the voice when I'm in costume." I said, feigning like I was annoyed, "Even for Alfred."

"Who's Alfred?" Huntress asked as she looked for the secret entrance to the meeting room.

"Batman's butler." I said as I looked too. "Sorry, I forgot you didn't know him."

"Ah-ha!" She exclaimed, drawing her sword. She put it in a slot between the wall and a bookshelf. She shoved it as hard as she could, but it didn't budge much. I went over, jammed my fingers in the slot, and pulled. Slowly, we managed to pull it away from the wall, revealing a heavy metal door.

"How do we get past it?" I asked her. Huntress passed me her sword, then started fiddling with the combination lock on the door. It opened after a few Turns. "What was the password?"

"By birthday." She said coldly, pulling her crossbows out. She reloaded and started heading down the concrete stairs.

"This 'Huntress' bitch, according to our benefactor, is not a problem to the plan. He says that he already knows who she is, and that she is already in the process of being eliminated." Franco Bertinelli's voice came from around the corner.

"What about the Dayhound?" One of his men asked. I grabbed Helena's wrist to stop her. "Witnesses say that he was with her."

"Deathstroke's boy," Don Bertinelli said confidently, "He won't be a problem either. He'll only be a problem if he finds out about the benefactor. But not even Batman knows about him."

"Who is this mysterious benefactor you keep bringing up, compadre?" A different voice said. Was the cartel involved in this too?

"All in due time, my drug-selling friend, all in due time. Just keep to the plan."

"I've heard enough of this, Danny." Helena whispered to me, "We need to finish this."

I nodded. I pulled a flash bang out of my belt and tossed it into the room. We heard it go off, then bolted around the corner.

Huntress fired her large crossbow at a large Mexican man next to the door. She dropped her bow then pulled out the smaller ones. She fired them at two well dressed men, then pulled out her escrima sticks. I dove onto a guy and punched him six or seven times. I swung him into another guy, then slammed their heads together. I pulled out my baton and took down three more guys by hitting them all multiple times with the baton. I took out a final man by drop kicking him hard into a wall. I spun around, but stopped in my tracks when I heard the cocking of a large machine gun.

"Don't you move, Wilson, or you and your girlfriend here gets it!" Bertinelli said. He was pointing a very large machine gun at Helena. I slowly turned towards them, dropping my weapon and putting my hands behind my head. "Good, good. Now slowly walk and stand by her."

"How did you find out, Bertinelli?" I asked him.

"About you? Pay the right people and you can find out just about anything. I found out from your father, in this particular instance. I can't believe this. I let you in my home, I show you respect, I let you date my daughter, and this is how you repay me?"

I looked over at Helena. She looked at me. She pulled off her mask.


	18. Chapter 18

"Helena? Baby girl?" Franco said, dropping his gun, "You're... The Huntress? Why?"

"Because," she said, dropping her sticks and walking up to him. "You had uncle Eddy killed by Deathstroke!"

"Oh, baby, you weren't supposed to find out about that..." He said, tears in his eyes.

"Why? Why did you do it?"

"You wouldn't understand."

She grabbed his lapels and slammed him into the wall behind him. She punched him in the face.

"Why?" She screamed with tears running down her face. She punched him again when he refused to answer.

"He was making you too good!" Bertinelli shouted finally. "I knew that if he was still around, you wouldn't be interested in leading the family. I had to get rid of him."

"Well congratulations," Helena gritted through her teeth, "You succeeded. I'm not good.

She pulled out a small knife and stabbed him twice in the gut. He grunted, then grabbed her wrist to stop a third stab. He wrenched the knife from her hand. I grabbed a pistol that had fallen nearby from one of the men. Bertinelli spun Helena around and held the knife to her throat.

"Don't move a goddam muscle, Wilson!" He screamed at me spewing blood. I was pointing the gun at him. I swear, I'll cut her throat. I will cut her fu-"

The sound of a gun going off surprised me. I saw Bertinelli's head snap back, blood erupting from an open wound in the middle of his forehead. It took me a minute to realize that I had been the one who had taken the shot. The gun I was holding smoked softly. Helena was stunned for a few seconds, but then ran to me.

She hugged me tightly. I hugged her, but I was still shocked by what I had just done. I couldn't stop looking at him.

It had been a long time since I had killed. A year and a half. I had killed a drug dealer who had killed my best friend, Roger. I threw the drug dealer off of a building. He had looked peaceful, laying there 20 stories below me. Bertinelli did not. He was still pooling blood, and his face was an expression of pain. He still held the knife in his hand, red with his own blood from the stab wounds Helena had inflicted. He was dead. His every image was dead. He was as dead as anyone can get.

Finally, Helena pulled my eyes away from the corpse. She met my gaze with her beautiful blue eyes. Her face was splashed with a little bit of her father's blood, but her eyes were still as pure as ever.

"Danny, I love you." She whispered to me. This was the most truthful thing anyone had ever said to me. Even my mother was never as truthful as Helena was in that very moment. "Come on. Let's go home."

The drive was a lot longer going than coming. I knew that no police or anyone would be coming. We were too far away from any towns. It was over. That cabin was the grave for the dead, and those left living could feel glad that they weren't dead.

When we pulled up to the Bertinelli estate, Helena made me follow her inside. She had some final touches that needed to be done to completely rid this place of her father. Journals, pictures, and notes all went up in flames in a fireplace. Guns, weapons, and mementoes were locked in safes to be thrown in the bay. That was the end of it. She was free from her father.

"I'm gonna go take a shower." She said once the deed was done.

"Ok, I'll be here." I said, tiredly. She stood there, despite saying she was going. I finally spoke up, "What?"

"I was thinking that you might like to join me..." She said coyly. I blushed, mostly because I didn't catch the hint.

The moment we entered the bathroom, we were on each other. We made out, tore off each other's clothes, and got in the shower. We couldn't keep our hands off of each other the whole shower, or the whole way to the bedroom from the shower. There was not much sleeping done that night.

The next morning, I woke up very early. Helena was still asleep, her nude form covered by a thin sheet. I kissed her on the cheek and got dressed in my costume again, since that's all I had. I went downstairs to get some food.

I started going down the stairs when I heard something very quiet. A footstep. I ducked and sneaked down the stairs, where I saw someone in a suit looking around. It looked as though he were searching for something.

I pulled up my disguise and ran up behind him. I punched him in the back and shoved him to the floor. I stepped on his back to hold him there.

"Who are you?" I growled at him.

"Ugh..." He grunted as I pressed down to get him to talk. "Right coat pocket."

Reached in the pocket he said and pulled out his wallet. It had an FBI ID card in it. Special Agent Castle Fischer.

"What are you doing here Agent Fischer?" I asked him.

"I'll tell you, but you need to let me up." He said struggling. I searched him, found his gun and took it away. I got off of him. He coughed and got to his feet.

"Ok Fischer, what are you doing here?" I asked him again, this time pointing the gun at him.

"That's classified." He said when he caught his breath.

I cocked the hammer back. "Wrong answer."

"You won't shoot me. I know your M.O."

"I won't kill you. But I don't have anything against kneecaps."

"Fine. I guess since it kind of concerns you, I can tell. I am investigating Ms. Bertinelli."

I charged him, grabbed his lapel, and held the gun to his chin.

"Why?" I growled out quietly.

"She's a vigilante. The Huntress. I'm not with the FBI, I'm with a government organization called ARGUS. Ms. Bertinelli possesses a very special skill set, one that ARGUS is interested in."

I pistol whipped Agent Fischer. He grunted, then tried to shove away. I pistol whipped him a second time. Helena came down, dressed in a silk bathrobe.

"Danny! What are you doing?" She shouted. I dropped Fischer, then pointed the gun at him.

"Ms. Bertinelli, I am Special Agent Castle Fischer, ARGUS. I'm not here to arrest you, unless you don't comply."

"Don't comply with what?" She asked, "Danny, put that gun down, you're making a fool of yourself. We all know you won't kill him."

I handed him the gun and he holstered it again. "Thank you, Dayhound, alias Daniel Striker Wilson, child of Linda Summers and Slade 'Deathstroke' Wilson. Current address: First Titan Tower, Jump Island, San Fransisco, United States of America, Planet Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, the first known universe."

What was this idiot trying to prove? That he knew who I was? Knowing my name was impressive, but my current address was not. It was easy to find out that the Dayhound lived in Titan Tower.

"I can't go into detail in front of... The present company, because details are classified. However, because of your particular skill set, Ms. Bertinelli, alias 'The Huntress', ARGUS would like to recruit you for a few top secret missions. It will be dangerous, but you will be paid. But, you won't be able to communicate with anyone unless ARGUS tells you to." Fischer said, motioning to me. It was clear he was telling her she couldn't talk to me if she went with ARGUS.

"No thank you." Helena said, grabbing my hand.

"Very well. Miss Helena Bertinelli, you and Daniel Wilson are under arrest."

"What? Why?" We both yelled at the same time.

"For the murder of Franco Bertinelli, Marcus Ignacio, Jason Pitini... Shall I go on?" He threatened.

"Ok, fine, just clear out of the room! I... I have to say goodbye." She said, her voice full of disappointment.

"Very well. Once he leaves, we can discuss terms and such." Fischer said then left the room.

"Helena..." I said, not knowing exactly what to say, "You don't have to go with him. We can fight him off, run away together. We can keep away from the police. I'll give up this life, I'll-"

She stopped me by kissing me. It was a short kiss, but it shut me up well enough.

"Danny, I don't want you to get hurt." She said sadly, "I love you, but I can't lose you. I don't want you to go to jail or worse."

"I won't. I am a good fighter and I-"

"No, Danny. These aren't the police. They're a government organization we've never heard of. They mean business."

I kissed her softly, then hugged her tight.

"I love you. Please come back to me." I said, tears running down my face.

"I love you too. And you need to understand, this is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I just wish we had more than one night together. I promise, when I come back, I will find you."

"You better, Helena Bertinelli..." I whispered, kissing her again. She shoved an object into my hand, then led me outside, sealing her departure with one last kiss.


	19. Chapter 19

An arrowhead, made of silver, with a cross on it. A necklace given to Helena by her godfather upon his death. He was stabbed by my father, who was hired by Helena's father. I held on to this tightly in my hand as I walked down the street.

It wasn't light out, but it was starting to get there. I didn't care that I was still in costume, that my hood was down, that anyone who wanted to could see my face and say "That's Daniel Wilson, the Dayhound. He lost his mother, his brother, and now the love of his life."

That's why Agent Fischer wouldn't discuss details in my presence. He knew that the missions she would be going on were suicide missions, missions with a high mortality rate. She was part of a suicide squad.

I got out of town with my identity still very much a secret. All I had to remember Helena with was a small piece of silver with a cross etched into it. I wasn't even Catholic. It didn't mean to me what it meant to other people. It wasn't a sign of a savior, it was a sign of a lost love.

It was almost 10 in the morning by the time I got back to Wayne manner. I stepped through the large doors, muddy and depressed.

"Ah, Master Daniel, I was wondering when you'd return home. I was starting to..." He started to say before turning to me. When he saw the expression on my face, he hugged me.

"She's gone Alfred. ARGUS... They came and took her away from me. They didn't give her an option. And now I probably won't ever see her again." I said. Alfred hugged me for a long time.

"I'm assuming this is Ms. Bertinelli we are talking about, Master Daniel."

I nodded. I didn't want to talk. I just wanted to go back to bed. Alfred told me to go talk to Bruce in the cave though.

"Hey Bruce..." I said, walking up to the Batmobile. He was underneath, working on it.

"Dan." He greeted simply. I sat down next to him and slid underneath. "What's wrong?"

"You don't have to worry about Bertinelli anymore. Or the Huntress."

"Oh? Why?"

"Helena was the Huntress. She killed Bertinelli."

"Did you arrest her? Is that what's wrong?"

"No. I had sex with her. Then a man from a government organization called ARGUS came and forced her to join."

"So that's what you're upset about? Hold this pipe here."

"So what is ARGUS?" I asked him, grabbing the pipe and holding it in place. He began drilling a hole above the pipe.

"Covert government agency. Counter terrorism, counter communism, counter enemies, etc. They're headed by a woman named Amanda Waller. She kind of uses ARGUS as her own attack dogs though. It's hard not to when you answer to no one though. Only the President, a few members of his cabinet, and the Supreme Court know about it, and they can't control it."

"So that's it huh? There's no way to stop them? No way to save Helena?"

"The best way would be to get her now. Flee the country, and never stop moving. But I wouldn't recommend it. Amanda Waller is not a forgiving person. Even ask the Green Arrow."

"Oliver has experience with Waller? Does he know where ARGUS HQ is?"

"They don't have an HQ. They move constantly. Even if you could find them, I don't know if you'd be able to stop them. Talk to Oliver about this if you still want to know. Although he'll tell you to not makeł them mad."

I clearly seemed displeased, because Bruce stopped working and turned to me.

"Danny, I get it. You really love her. But there's nothing you can do. Especially if ARGUS came for her specifically."

"Why haven't they come for us? Or Superman? Having him would be a huge benefit."

"We don't kill people. That's one of the reasons I don't want to train killers. I don't want Waller to use them."

"Jeez, if I had known that, I wouldn't have killed ever."

"You and I both know you would've. You were terrible at controlling your temper. I'm also fairly certain you killed Franco Bertinelli, but you don't seem guilty, so I'm guessing it was Helena or him."

"Man that sucks... I should still feel guilty, but I don't. Do we become callus to violence?"

"Did you chop off a man's fingers without wincing?" He asked back, answering my question. "We've both done stuff like that, Dan. I just figured out that's not the way you should."

"I know, Bruce. You know, you wouldn't think it, but I don't feel like I need to hurt people anymore. I think it was Helena."

Bruce looked at me for a long time.

"I'm proud of you, Danny." Batman said, ruffling my hair. That was the last thing I needed to hear in Gotham. Batman, who never showed any affection or encouragement, told me that he was proud of me.

I showered, dressed in civilian clothes, put on Helena's necklace. My stuff was already packed, probably by Alfred. I grabbed my suitcase, then headed for the airport.

The trip to Gotham did help me, a lot, but it also left me with many questions. What exactly was ARGUS, and what was their role in all this? Who was Bertinelli's mysterious benefactor? Who was Jason Todd's father? Would I ever see Helena again? Despite all my questions, I found it easy to fall asleep on the plane back to San Fransisco. I was ready to continue my career with the Titans.

I woke up right before we landed. The sun was setting on the San Fransisco Bay. It reminded of an old song that my mother loved, though I couldn't remember the name of it. She used to sing it to us though.

Her plan was always to go to San Fransisco and live there for the rest of her life. When she met my father and got pregnant with me and Kam, her whole life changed. She never even saw the City by the Bay once in her life. Kam and I had always planned on taking her there once he was a famous football player and I was rich from money I made on the stock market. Living here without her made me sad that she never saw it. Living here without her made me miss her and Kam even more.


	20. Chapter 20: Home

"Hello Daniel! My friend!" Koriand'r shouted once I exited the elevator into the Common Area. I gave her a funny look.

"Since when are we friends?" I asked her, accidentally sounding rude.

"Since you beat me. I am part of this team now, and that is all thanks to you, Daniel! I have had such an amazing time here on Earth! I love it here!" She ran up and hugged me tightly. A little too tightly, because I couldn't breathe. "I have even come up with my own superhero name! Call me: Starfire!"

I had to say, THIS Koriand'r was insanely cute. She was excited and happy and kind. But I was still heartbroken about Helena, so I didn't act like she was cute. Plus, I noticed Dick looking at her like he was in love.

Hey D-man!" Gar shouted, coming up to me. He gave me a high five. "How was your vacation bro?"

"It was great. I really needed that. I'm glad to be back though." I said, smiling. I was still hurt on the inside, but I felt better now that I was among my friends.

"Holy crap, that was easy! Pay up, Vic!" Gar yelled, pumping his fist in the air.

"Nah-uh," Victor said, shaking his head, "You said 'make him at least smile with a joke,' not just by talking to him."

Gar changed into a bull and started chasing Vic around. They ran off into the hall.

"What was that about?" I asked Roy after I was done laughing.

"Gar said that he could make you at least smile by telling you a joke. They made a bet on it." Roy said. He fist bumped me. "Are you um... Are you good now?"

I smiled and nodded. "Where's everyone else?" I asked Dick as I sat by him and Koriand'r.

"They're out fighting crime. A bank robbery, nothing huge. They can handle it." Dick said, turning to me. "How was he?"

"He was good as ever." I told him. "I actually got him to tell me that he was proud of me."

Dick's surprise was very visible.

"Are you kidding me? How?" He yelled. I smirked.

"That's my secret." I said, winking at him.

"Um... Who is this we are talking about guys?" Koriand'r asked, clearly very confused.

"The guy who trained us, Kori. The Dark Knight, Batman." Dick replied, laughing.

"And that is his superhero name, correct? He is not actually a Bat-Man?" She asked. Dick and I looked at each other and laughed.

"Sometimes I think he might be..." I said, smiling and laughing. "I've had a long flight. I think I'll catch some shuteye."

"He means he is going to sleep?" Kori asked Dick. He nodded. "Goodnight then, Daniel! Sweet dreams! But not too sweet! We still want you to wake up and tell us all about your trip!"

I walked away from the common area to my room with a smile on my face. Things were going to be ok this time around.

**Author's Note**

Thank you so much for reading! I honestly didn't think I would come back to this stuff ever, but I am glad I did.

I reread both of my other Dayhound stories in 2 days, and wrote this whole thing in less than a week, so I figured I better come back to it and keep writing them until a) I finish the Dayhound Saga, or b) August 16th, when I have to yet another hiatus for personal reasons, this time for 2 years.

But I am going to try and crank out as much as I possibly can.

The next story doesn't have a name yet, but you should see the first part of it tomorrow or the next day. If you don't see it in those two days, expect to see it after the week of the 4th

Thanks again for the support and I hope you enjoyed this!


End file.
